Annex 1: Minor changes in the law made by the Act: Change 48: Waste disposal: site preparation expenditure: drop requirements to make claim and submit plans and documents: section 165
This change drops the requirements to make a claim and submit plans and documents when making deductions under section 165.
Section 91B of ICTA allows a revenue deduction for capital expenditure on preparing a waste disposal site for use. The expenditure is spread over the life of the site by means of a formula based on the total capacity of the site and the amount of that capacity which has been used.
The taxpayer must make a claim for relief under section 91B of ICTA (in such form as the Board may direct), and submit such plans and documents as the Board may require.
The requirement to submit plans and documents sits uneasily with Self Assessment - the Self Assessment record-keeping rules require taxpayers to keep such information and produce it in the event of an enquiry.
The section also drops the requirement to make a claim for relief, with the result that relief will simply be a deduction in the taxpayer’s self-assessment. Once the requirement to submit plans and documents is removed, there seems no reason to require a claim for this particular deduction as opposed to any other.
The claim under section 91B of ICTA must be made within 70 months from the end of the tax year. Removing the claim means that taxpayers will have 22 months from the end of the tax year in which to include the deduction in their self-assessment. However, error or mistake claims will be available if too much tax had been paid as a result of omitting to include the deduction on the tax return.
This change is adverse to some taxpayers and favourable to others in principle but is not expected to have any practical effect.