Responding to a freedom of information request, HMRC refused to divulge how much landfill tax it had recovered from waste criminals but said there had been “a low number of tax assessments” to date.
The waste industry has expressed its disappointment at the revelations. Trade body the Environmental Services Association (ESA) said the additional powers given to HMRC “held the potential to be a powerful tool in the fight against waste crime, so we are disappointed that they are not being fully utilised”.
Since 2018, any person or business who makes a disposal at an unauthorised waste site, or knowingly causes or permits the disposal, has been liable for landfill tax.
When the powers were first introduced, HMRC said the penalties would apply alongside any penalties for environmental offences, “making the polluter pay the punitive costs for defrauding the revenue and harming the environment”.
The government said HMRC and the Environment Agency (EA) had...