Introduction Background Note
3.Following the UK’s adoption of the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive 96/61/EC, there was a phased transition as UK landfill sites moved from a regime of licences and resolutions to a system of permits introduced in the Pollution Prevention and Control Act ("PPCA") 1999.
4.The definition of a landfill site in landfill tax legislation cross refers to this environmental legislation. It was recognised that this site-by-site transition to permits would have a consequential impact on landfill tax provisions and, to deal with this situation, the PPCA amended landfill tax legislation to introduce a new subsection (ba) into section 66 of the FA 1996 from a date to be appointed by secondary legislation.
5.These amendments were brought into force in England and Wales on 21 March 2000 and Northern Ireland on 17 January 2003. However, the necessary commencement order was not made in Scotland, thereby unintentionally taking each Scottish landfill site outside the scope of landfill tax from the date its permit took effect.  The effect of this section is to bring section 66(ba) into force from the same date it was brought into force in England and Wales.