Commentary on Provisions Part 1 – Scottish Aggregates Tax Commercial exploitation of aggregate Section 8: Persons liable to pay tax
37.This section sets out the fundamental rule that the persons liable to pay the tax charged on a quantity of taxable aggregate are the persons responsible for subjecting it to commercial exploitation. Subsection (2) then defines responsibility for these purposes. This depends on the type of commercial exploitation that takes place: for instance, where commercial exploitation of aggregate takes place when is not on its originating site or a connected site, and the exploitation consists of using the aggregate for construction purposes, the person liable to pay tax is the person responsible for using it for those purposes; if the exploitation consists of supplying the aggregate, then the person liable to pay tax is the supplier.
38.Subsection (3) clarifies that exploitation of aggregate is only defined as commercial exploitation for the purposes of Part 1 of the Act if the exploitation takes place in the course of a business carried on by a person: and for these purposes this includes any activity of the Scottish Administration, the UK government, or of a local authority or charity).
39.Subsection (4) provides that the term “connected site”, in relation to aggregate, means any site that falls within the description set out in section 7(2)(b): that is, any site which is not the originating site of the aggregate but is registered under the name of a person under whose name that originating site is also registered.
40.Subsection (5) provides that where there is a supply chain arising from an agreement to supply aggregate, every person in the chain is liable to pay the total amount of tax chargeable on the aggregate as a result of the original agreement, unless they have acquired the aggregate from a supplier who is registered for tax under section 17 of the Act (the purpose being to prevent the creation of an artificial chain in order to avoid liability for tax).
41.Subsection (6) provides for joint and several liability where more than one person is charged with the tax by virtue of this section: this means that each person involved is responsible for the full liability of the tax, and if one person is unable to pay, the others are liable for paying that person’s share.