Waste Management (Landfill Levy) Regulations, 2002

• Jurisdiction: Ireland

INDEX
1. Citation. 2. Interpretation. 3. Imposition of a landfill levy. 4. Liability for payment of the levy. 5. Exemption from the levy. 6. Determination of levy liability. 7. Payment of levy by an accountable person, other than a local authority. 8. Payment of levy by a local authority. 9. Payment of levy in respect of an unauthorised landfill activity. 10. Records and accounts. 11. Audit of relevant waste disposal activities. 12. Estimation in the case of non-payment. 13. Estimation in the case of underpayment. 14. Interest on overdue levy. 15. Recovery of levy which is due and payable. 16. Refund of levy. 17. Annual Report. 18. Restriction on charges for waste collection services.
Schedule: Calculation of weight of waste in the absence of a weighbridge.
S.I. No. 86 of 2002
WASTE MANAGEMENT (LANDFILL LEVY) REGULATIONS, 2002
The Minister for the Environment and Local Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 7 , 18 and 73 of the Waste Management Act, 1996 (No. 10 of 1996), hereby makes the following Regulations:
	Citation	1. These Regulations may be cited as the Waste Management (Landfill Levy) Regulations, 2002.
	Interpretation	2. (1) In these Regulations, any reference to a Schedule or article that is not otherwise identified is a reference to a Schedule or article of these Regulations.
(2) In these Regulations, any reference to a sub-article or paragraph that is not otherwise identified is a reference to the sub-article or paragraph of the provision in which the reference occurs.
(3) In these Regulations, save where the context otherwise requires
“the Act” means the Waste Management Act, 1996 (No. 10 of 1996) as amended by the Waste Management (Amendment) Act, 2001 (No. 36 of 2001);
“accounting period” means each period of one calendar month commencing on 1 June, 2002;
“accountable person” means the person by whom the levy is payable in respect of an authorised landfill activity, in accordance with section 73(5) of the Act and article 4;
“auditor” for the purposes of article 11. includes a body corporate:
“authorised landfill activity” means a landfill activity specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) of Article 4;
“end-of-life vehicle” means a vehicle which is waste within the meaning of section 4(1) of the Act;
“Environment Fund” has the meaning assigned to it by section 74 of the Act;
“Local Government Auditor” means an auditor appointed by the Minister under the Local Government Acts, 1925 to 2001 to carry out, or to assist in the carrying out of, audits of the accounts of local authorities or other bodies;
“relevant local authority” means, in relation to a landfill activity which is subject to the levy, the local authority in whose functional area the activity concerned is carried on;
“unauthorised landfill activity” means a landfill activity specified in paragraph (c) of Article 4.
	Imposition of a landfill levy	3. (1) Subject to article 5, on and from 1 June 2002, there shall be chargeable, leviable and payable a levy (which shall be known as a ‘landfill levy’ and is in these Regulations referred to as ‘the levy’) in respect of the disposal of waste at a landfill facility by means of an activity referred to in paragraph 1 or 5 of the Third Schedule to the Act (hereafter in these Regulations referred to as a “landfill activity”).
(2) The amount of the levy shall be €15 for each tonne of waste disposed of.
	Liability for payment of the levy	4. For the purpose of section 73(5) of the Act, the levy shall be payable-
(a) in the case of a landfill activity at a facility in respect of which there is in force a waste licence, by the holder of the said licence;
(b) in the case of a landfill activity at a facility which is deemed not to contravene the provisions of Part V of the Act by virtue of compliance with the requirements of section 39(3) of the Act, by the applicant for the relevant licence;
(c) in the case of a landfill activity other than one to which paragraphs (a) and (b) relate, by
(i) the person who carried or carries on the activity concerned, or
(ii) where that person is not identified, or cannot for whatever reason discharge the levy liability, by the owner of the facility concerned.
	Exemption from the levy.	5. (1) Article 3 shall not apply in respect of the disposal, by means of an authorised landfill activity, of the following wastes:
(a) non-hazardous waste from construction and demolition activity, comprising concrete, bricks, tiles, road planings or other such similar materials, with a particle size of 150mm or less, which is used for landfill site engineering, restoration or remediation purposes;
(b) excavation spoil comprising clay, sand, gravel or stone which is used for landfill site engineering, restoration or remediation purposes;
(c) stabilised waste arising from the composting of the biodegradable fraction of municipal waste, to which fraction sewage sludge may have been added;
(d) waste arising from street cleaning activities carried on by or on behalf of a local authority;
(e) waste which has been deposited elsewhere without appropriate authorisation and is subsequently removed by or on behalf of a local authority for disposal, for the purpose of preventing environmental pollution (but not including waste which has been deposited elsewhere without appropriate authorisation and is subsequently required to be removed for disposal by a person at the direction of a local authority or the Agency);
(f) waste arising from local clean-up activities carried on by community or environmental groups, where such activity is approved in advance by the relevant local authority for the purposes of exemption of such waste arisings from the levy;
(g) residues from filtration during the extrusion of recycled polymeric material:
(h) non-metallic residues arising from the shredding of end-of-life vehicles, white goods and other metal waste; and
(i) dredge spoil from inland waterways and harbours.
(2) Article 3 shall not apply in respect of-
(a) the disposal of waste in a landfill facility, where such a facility is connected or associated with an activity specified in the First Schedule of the Act of 1992 and is subject to a licence or revised licence granted by the Agency under Section 83 of the Act of 1992;
(b) the deposition in a quarry of natural material arising from the excavation of that quarry, where such material is in a chemically unaltered state.
	Determination of levy liability	6. (1) Subject to sub-article (2), for the purpose of determining the amount of the levy which is payable in the case of an authorised landfill activity, the weight of waste disposed of shall be determined by means of a weighbridge at the facility concerned.
(2) In the case of a facility at which —
(a) there is not a weighbridge, or
(b) a weighbridge is not for the time being capable of operation,
the weight of waste disposed of shall be determined by means of any one of the methods set out in the Schedule.
(3) In the case of an unauthorised landfill activity, the weight of waste disposed of shall be determined by the relevant local authority-
(a) by means of weighing any such waste that is removed from the facility concerned, by or at the direction of the relevant local authority or the Agency, for disposal elsewhere; and
(b) in any other case, by means of such methodology as is from time to time notified in writing to the relevant local authority by the Agency.
(4) In proceedings for the recovery of levy payable under these Regulations or for an offence under these Regulations, it shall be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, that a determination made by a local authority for the purpose of sub-article (3) is in accordance with the methodology approved for that purpose.
(5) An accountable person shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that a weighbridge in any relevant facility is —
(a) properly maintained and calibrated,
(b) used to quantify the weight of all wastes accepted at the facility for the purpose of disposal, and
(c) in the event of breakdown, repaired as expeditiously as possible.
(6) A relevant local authority may at any time require an accountable person to calibrate a weighbridge in any relevant facility.
	Payment of levy by an accountable person, other than a local authority	7. (1) Subject to sub-articles (4) and (5), an accountable person, other than a local authority, shall, not later than four weeks following the end of an accounting period -
(a) furnish to the relevant local authority a full and true return, in such form as may be specified by that authority, of the amount of the levy which became payable by that person during the said accounting period, in respect of each landfill facility concerned, and
(b) remit to the said local authority the amount payable, in such form, or by lodgement to such financial account as shall be specified by that authority.
(2) Subject to sub-article (3), a local authority shall, within two weeks of the end of each calendar month —
(a) pay into the Environment Fund, by means of such lodgement to such financial account as shall be specified for the purpose, an amount equal to the sum of levy payments received under sub-article (1) during that month, and
(b) furnish to the Minister a copy of all returns received in accordance with sub-article (1)(a) during that month.
(3) For the purpose of defraying expenses incurred in the enforcement and collection of the levy within its functional area, a local authority may deduct and retain up to 2% of any amount payable under sub-article (2), but any such deductions shall not exceed a total of €50,000, or such other amount as may from time to time be specified in...