Landfill Disposals Tax (Wales) Act 2017 section 65

Reasonable excuse for non-compliance

Section 65 provides a defence against penalties for carrying out taxable landfill operations without being registered, where the person can demonstrate a reasonable excuse for the breach.

• A person who carries out taxable landfill operations without being registered can avoid a penalty if they can show the Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA) or a tribunal that they had a reasonable excuse for the breach.
• Simply relying on another person to handle a matter (such as an agent or adviser) does not count as a reasonable excuse, unless the person also took reasonable care themselves to avoid the breach.
• If a person had a genuine reasonable excuse that later ceased to apply, they will still be treated as having the excuse provided they remedied the breach without unreasonable delay after the excuse ended.
• The burden is on the person to satisfy either WRA or, if the matter is appealed, the tribunal that the reasonable excuse existed.