1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Aggregates Levy (Northern Ireland Special Tax Credit) Regulations 2015 and come into force on 1st April 2015.

2.-(1) In these Regulations-

"the Act" refers to the Finance Act 2001;

"AL" refers to aggregates levy;

"the AL General Regulations" means the Aggregates Levy (General) Regulations 2002(2);

"a written notice of certification" refers to a written notice given by the Department(3) to confirm that it has made a special tax credit certification;

"a special tax credit certification" refers to a certification by the Department under section 30D of the Act.

3.-(1) These Regulations apply to an eligible person within the meaning of regulation 3(7) below in the cases provided for by subsections (3) to (5) of section 30B of the Act.

(2) Subject to regulation 4, an eligible person is entitled to special tax credit(4) of 80% of any AL charged.

(3) The provisions of Parts 3 and 4 of the AL General Regulations shall apply for the purposes of special tax credit, with the following modifications-

(a)in regulation 15(7), disapply the effect of section 32(1) of the Act (the four year time limit);

(b)in regulation 16(6), disapply the effect of section 32(1) of the Act (the four year time limit); and

(c)disapply regulations 30 to 33.

(4) Special tax credit shall only arise under these Regulations if a claim is made by a person so entitled acting under and in accordance with regulations 14 to 16 and regulation 19 of the AL General Regulations, as the case requires.

(5) Where a person is entitled to claim special tax credit under this regulation, that person is entitled to make only one such claim in respect of any quantity of aggregate.

(6) Special tax credit provided for by these Regulations is prescribed for the purposes of subsection (6) of section 17 of the Act.

(7) In these Regulations, an "eligible person" is a person who-

(a)was registered for AL under section 24 of, and Schedule 4 to, the Act within the period for exploitation of imported aggregate specified in section 30B(5) of the Act;

(b)applies to the Department for a special tax certification in compliance with section 30D of the Act on or before 31st March 2016;

(c)in support of that application, gives the Department written notice that they have been charged with AL in a case falling within subsection (3)(b) of section 30B of the Act; and

(d)on or before 31st March 2019-

(i)makes a claim to the Commissioners for special tax credit specifying what credit is claimed, in respect of what quantity of aggregate, and in respect of what period of time; and

(ii)produces a written notice of certification as part of that claim that has not been withdrawn or revoked by the Department.

4.-(1) Regulation 3(2) shall not apply where any AL, in respect of which a claim for special tax credit might otherwise be made, relates to aggregate that is or is to be transferred from Northern Ireland to another part of the United Kingdom in any form.

(2) Regulation 3(2) shall apply where the claimant can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that such a transfer is a stage of an onward export of that aggregate from the United Kingdom, without further processing.

5.  The Department shall specify the requirements for a special tax credit certification by published notice not withdrawn by a further notice.

6.-(1) A special tax credit certification may be revoked by the Department under section 30D of the Act at any time on or before 31st March 2018.

(2) The Department shall notify the Commissioners, and any other person to whom the Department has given a written notice of certification, of any revocation under paragraph (1).

(3) Should the Department revoke a special tax credit certification under this regulation-

(a)the Commissioners shall withdraw special tax credit, and any interest thereon, paid out to any person in respect of any period to which that revocation relates; and

(b)paragraph 3 of Schedule 8 to the Act shall apply for the purposes of the withdrawal of special tax credit (and interest thereon) under this paragraph.

7.  The Commissioners shall be entitled to refuse (in whole or in part) any claim for special tax credit, or for any interest thereon, if they are not satisfied with the documentation or evidence produced by any person in support of such a claim.

8.  The Commissioners shall be obliged to pay interest at the applicable rate specified in regulation 9 in respect of any special tax credit to which any person is entitled, from the date that that person fully accounted for AL within the meaning of section 30B(3) of the Act until the date that the credit is paid or accounted for by the Commissioners.

9.  The applicable rate of interest in regulation 8 shall be the amount of interest calculated from time to time in accordance with Articles 9 to 11 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 794/2004 of 21st April 2004(5).

10.  When an eligible person makes a claim under these Regulations, that eligible person is obliged to preserve the following records for a period of six years from the date of that claim -

(a)(without prejudice to the terms of regulation 11 of the AL General Regulations) all such records as are still held by that person within the meaning of regulation 10 of the AL General Regulations at the date of the claim;

(b)a written notice of certification for that claim; and

(c)such other documentary evidence as the Commissioners may direct or determine in writing.

11.  A person who fails to comply with any requirements imposed on him by regulation 10 shall be liable to a penalty of £250.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations will (on certain conditions) entitle eligible claimants to special tax credit of 80% of aggregates levy that was paid at the full rate on aggregate commercially exploited in Northern Ireland between 1st April 2004 and 30th November 2010 that originated in another member State. These Regulations provide for the submission of claims for such a credit to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and that such claims must be supported by certification provided by the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland. The application for special tax credit must be made separately from the aggregates levy return.

A Tax Information and Impact Note covering this instrument was published on 10th December 2014 and is available on the gov.uk website at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tax-information-and-impact-notes-tiins. It remains an accurate summary of the impacts that apply to this instrument.