Augean plc
(“Augean” or “the Group”)
Landfill Tax Repayment of £1.6 million by HMRC
Augean, one of the UK's leading specialist waste management businesses, announces that it has been notified by HMRC that it will be repaying £1.6m of Landfill Tax to the Group. The amount relates to a single biomass customer and is part of the £40.4m of disputed Landfill Tax assessments which the Group paid in full in December 2019.
The Group intends to seek interest and costs from HMRC in addition to the repayment. The repayment will be treated as an exceptional profit in the Group results for the year ending 31 December 2020.
The Group awaits the decision of another more significant element worth approximately £16m of the disputed Landfill Tax from the First Tier Tax Tribunal which was heard in September 2020.
Jim Meredith, Executive Chairman of Augean, said:
“The Group is pleased to have received notification of HMRC's repayment. Nonetheless it is disappointing that the process with regard to this small element of the overall claim has taken more than three years to reach the right outcome. Based on legal advice received, we continue to maintain our position that we have correctly collected and paid the appropriate landfill tax throughout, and we will continue to robustly challenge the disputed remaining assessments that have been paid in full through the tax tribunal system.”