Last updated: November 2025
What is the Plastic Packaging Tax?
The UK Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) came into force on 1 April 2022. The PPT was introduced in the Finance Act 2021, with the Plastic Packaging Tax (General) Regulations 2022 setting out the specific requirements for the regime.
The PPT builds on the existing plastic carrier bag charge introduced under the Climate Change Act 2008. The government’s aim in introducing the tax was to encourage businesses to ensure that more packaging can be recycled and to increase the use of recycled content in packaging.
What are the key takeaways?
- The PPT first applies when a business has manufactured or imported 10 or more tonnes of plastic packaging in the last 12 months, or expects to import into the UK or manufacture in the UK 10 or more tonnes of plastic packaging in the next 30 days.
- A plastic packaging component is chargeable to the tax rate of GBP 223.69 per tonne if the proportion of recycled plastic in the component, when measured by weight, is less than 30%.
- Registration for the PPT is mandatory within 30 days of becoming liable. Failure to register and pay the tax can result in penalties.
- Businesses can be held jointly and severally liable for any unpaid PPT in the supply chain. The government has published guidance on how to conduct supply chain due diligence checks.
- Liability to pay the tax can be deferred or cancelled for exports, and exemptions are available for plastic packaging components used in delivering goods into the UK.
- Enforcement and penalties are similar to those relevant for other HMRC taxes. The criminal offences of fraudulent evasion and making misstatements apply, in addition to penalties.
What does this mean for your business?
If your business has manufactured or imported the specified amount of plastic packaging (currently 10 or more tonnes) in the last 12 months, or expects to import into the UK or manufacture in the UK specified amounts of plastic packaging (10 or more tonnes) in the next 30 days, it must register for the tax. For the purposes of the PPT, “plastic” means a polymer material to which additives or substances may have been added. Cellulose-based materials that are chemically modified, such as cellulose acetate, will be considered plastic.
Additionally, businesses should carry out due diligence checks on their suppliers to reduce the risk of being involved in a supply chain where PPT due goes unpaid. If these checks are not carried out, businesses could be held jointly and severally liable (or secondarily liable) for any unpaid PPT.
If registered for the PPT, businesses must keep accurate accounts and records to support the information submitted in their quarterly tax returns, including a breakdown of the weight of the plastic packaging components finished or imported in each period and evidence of any exemptions from the tax (e.g., 30% or more recycled plastic content).
Next steps
If you have not already done so, check whether your business falls within the scope of the tax by assessing its previous manufacturing and importation records and future expectations. If required, Businesses can register for the PPT on the government's website. HMRC is encouraging businesses to make the plastic tax visible on their sales invoices to increase the visibility of the tax and show businesses how much more they are paying for their plastic packaging by not using more recycled plastic content.
In October 2024, alongside its Autumn Budget, the government published a response to its industry consultation on how to recycle plastic packaging. This consultation included consideration of whether to allow a mass balance approach to determining the amount of chemically recycled plastic for the purposes of the PPT, and the use of certification schemes to track recycled plastics. The government’s response confirmed that, in the future, a mass balance approach will be allowed for the purposes of the PPT. This could make calculating the amount of chemically recycled plastic in a plastic packaging component easier for in-scope businesses. In May 2025, the government confirmed that this mass balance approach will be allowed from April 2027. Additionally, from the same date, pre-consumer waste will no longer be accepted as a source of recycled plastic.
