What is the key test for determining whether material is disposed of as waste under section 4 of the Landfill Tax (Scotland) Act 2014?

The key test is whether the person responsible for the disposal intends to discard the material. If there is an intention to discard, the material is treated as waste for Scottish landfill tax purposes, regardless of whether the material retains value or could still be put to use by anyone.

Does material escape Scottish landfill tax if it still has value or could be reused?

No. The legislation makes clear that it is completely irrelevant whether the material still has value or could be put to some use. Even if the person disposing of the material, or any other person, could benefit from it, the disposal still counts as waste if the intention was to discard it.

Who is treated as making the disposal when a waste contractor carries out the physical disposal?

The person on whose behalf the disposal is made is treated as making the disposal, not the person physically carrying it out. This means the intention to discard is assessed by reference to the person who arranged the disposal, whether informally at their request or formally under a contract.

What does 'on behalf of' mean in the context of section 4 of the Landfill Tax (Scotland) Act 2014?

Acting 'on behalf of' another person includes both informal arrangements, such as disposals made at someone's request, and formal arrangements carried out under a contract. In both cases, the person who arranged the disposal is treated as the one making it for Scottish landfill tax purposes.

Landfill Tax (Scotland) Act 2014 section 4

Disposal of material as waste

Section 4 defines what counts as a disposal of material "as waste" for the purposes of Scottish landfill tax, focusing on the intention to discard.

Material is disposed of as waste if the person responsible intends to discard it
It does not matter if the person disposing of the material, or anyone else, could still benefit from or make use of it
Where someone arranges for another party to carry out the disposal on their behalf, the person who arranged it is treated as the one making the disposal
Acting "on behalf of" another person includes disposals made at someone's request or carried out under a contract with them

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