The case of Biffa Waste Services Limited v The Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, a tribunal appeal, has been dismissed.
The appeal follows an earlier appeal by the appellant and three other waste disposal companies which dealt with the liability to landfill tax of so-called "fluff" which is mainly domestic black bag waste which had been deposited at the base, sides and top of landfill cells.
The argument was that this "fluff" was being used for the purpose of protecting the engineered parts of the relevant landfill cells from damage by the general body of waste deposited in the cell, and was therefore not waste, making it excluded from landfill tax.
The appeals were dismissed on the basis that in spite of the submitted "use" of the materials in question, the appellants had the intention to discard them.
This current appeal concerned a similar claim in relation to a different material deposited at the top of landfill cells operated by the appellant, called "engineered into the void permanently" (EVP), which is similar to "fluff" referred to in the earlier appeals.
Judge Kevin Poole, while making his decision, considered the intent of the person making the disposal of waste, and in this case the intent was to discard the material.
He also stated that "all the material was destined for landfill in any event, in the main body of landfilled waste if not as EVP".
With those things considered, the appeal was dismissed.
