Quarry operators in Northern Ireland who are part of a tax credit scheme providing an 80% relief from the aggregates levy will have to pay the full rate of £2 per tonne on supplies made on or after 1 December.
The Aggregates Levy (Northern Ireland Tax Credit) (Revocation) Regulations, SI 2010/2598, suspend the scheme in order to comply with a recent European General Court ruling which annulled EC state aid approval in response to action taken by the British Aggregates Association.
Gordon Best, Chief Executive of the Quarry Products Association Northern Ireland, said the news was ‘obviously very disappointing’.
He added that ‘HMRC notes the decision is based on the real risk of a challenge being taken against the Treasury for operating what is in effect an illegal state aid and the threat to operators that they would have to pay back aggregates levy of £1.60 per tonne back to 9 September and potentially to 2004.’
‘The Government continues to support the scheme,’ HMRC said in Revenue & Customs Brief 42/10. If the Commission were to come to a fresh decision that the aid was approvable, the Government would seek to reintroduce the scheme and to extend it beyond April 2011, when the original state aid approval was due to expire, HMRC added.
Quarry operators in Northern Ireland who are part of a tax credit scheme providing an 80% relief from the aggregates levy will have to pay the full rate of £2 per tonne on supplies made on or after 1 December.
The Aggregates Levy (Northern Ireland Tax Credit) (Revocation) Regulations, SI 2010/2598, suspend the scheme in order to comply with a recent European General Court ruling which annulled EC state aid approval in response to action taken by the British Aggregates Association.
Gordon Best, Chief Executive of the Quarry Products Association Northern Ireland, said the news was ‘obviously very disappointing’.
He added that ‘HMRC notes the decision is based on the real risk of a challenge being taken against the Treasury for operating what is in effect an illegal state aid and the threat to operators that they would have to pay back aggregates levy of £1.60 per tonne back to 9 September and potentially to 2004.’
‘The Government continues to support the scheme,’ HMRC said in Revenue & Customs Brief 42/10. If the Commission were to come to a fresh decision that the aid was approvable, the Government would seek to reintroduce the scheme and to extend it beyond April 2011, when the original state aid approval was due to expire, HMRC added.
.jpg?sfvrsn=335a554c_0 "300 x 250 (MPU)")