If you are part of a group of companies, you can simplify the administration and payment of Plastic Packaging Tax by appointing a UK established representative member of the group to submit returns and make payments on behalf of companies in your group.
Each company in the group must meet the 10 tonne threshold to be accepted for a group registration and should check if they need to register for Plastic Packaging Tax.
Groups of companies must include at least one company which is established in the UK, and are all under the same control.
To be able to register as a group for Plastic Packaging Tax, each business in the group must be a corporate body.
All the members of the group will be joint and severally liable for each other’s obligations for Plastic Packaging Tax.
This means that if the UK established representative member fails to make a payment of the tax due on behalf of the group, all the companies in the group will be responsible for making sure that the payment is made, regardless of which of the companies had the tax liability.
All the members of the group will need to appoint a UK established representative member of the group. The representative member must do all of the following activities for the whole group:
- register for Plastic Packaging Tax
- submit returns
- pay the tax
A representative member must fulfil all of the following:
- be a member of the group of companies
- be resident in the UK
- have a permanent establishment in the UK
- not be a member of another group of companies
How to register a group
You will register each member of the group as the representative member.
If you or any other company within the group are already registered for Plastic Packaging Tax, you should all deregister immediately before the group registration is established, giving the reason for deregistering so you can join a group.
If the group is established part way through an accounting period, any member that cancels an individual registration in order to join the group will be sent a paper return to complete for the period up to the group taking effect as they will immediately lose access to their online account when they deregister. They will need to complete and return this even if no tax is payable for the period covered.
You should use the online registration service to register as a group. For each company registering, you will need to provide one of the following:
- a customer identification number — for UK established businesses this could be one of the following:
- Customer Reference Number
- Corporation Tax Unique Tax Reference
- Charity Registration Number
- the type of organisation
- the address, phone number and email address
You must confirm during registration that all group members are under the same control and all agree to the appointment of you as the representative member. You must also confirm that you are eligible to be the representative member, and that all other members are eligible to be members of the group.
The group registration will take effect from the day that the application is made.
How to make changes to a group
Once the group registration application has been approved, you will need to use the online service to:
- add and remove members from the group
- change the representative member
- close the group
When making changes, remember that:
- the criteria for being part of a group must be fulfilled by all members
- a company leaving a group, or all the companies in a group being closed, may need to register immediately in its own right if it meets one of the tests for registration
- a company being added to the group must first deregister if it is already registered in its own right
Completing returns and payments
At the end of each accounting period, you should submit a single return and payment on behalf of all the members of the group. The figures included on the return should be the total for all the members of the group for that item.
You should make sure each member of the group keeps records to support the figures you use to complete the return and make the payment on their behalf .
Find out how you will complete your return.
