Manufacturing & Engineering UK-wide

Meet packaging producer responsibility and Plastic Packaging Tax

If you make plastic packaging, you have reporting and tax duties on top of the product rules. This guide takes you through extended producer responsibility for packaging (EPR) — collecting and reporting packaging data and, for larger producers, paying disposal fees — and the Plastic Packaging Tax, which applies once you manufacture 10 or more tonnes of finished plastic packaging in a 12-month period.

Guide summary

You must check if you handle enough packaging to register for EPR and the Plastic Packaging Tax. Measure your annual packaging tonnage and turnover. If you supply or import over 25 tonnes of packaging and have over £1 million turnover, you must report data. If you manufacture or import 10 tonnes or more of plastic packaging in 12 months, you must register for the Plastic Packaging Tax and pay £228.82 per tonne if it contains less than 30% recycled plastic.

  • Measure your annual packaging tonnage and turnover
  • Register for EPR if turnover over £1m and packaging over 25 tonnes
  • Large producers (over £2m turnover and 50 tonnes) pay disposal fees
  • Report data by 1 October (Jan–Jun) or 1 April (Jul–Dec)
  • Register for Plastic Packaging Tax if you handle 10+ tonnes in 12 months
  • Pay £228.82 per tonne for packaging with less than 30% recycled content
  • Keep records of recycled content for 6 years
  • File quarterly Plastic Packaging Tax returns due 1 month after quarter end
  • Join a compliance scheme to handle EPR obligations for you
On this page

Related guides in Tax Compliance

Plastic Packaging Tax

Tax obligations for businesses importing or manufacturing plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled content.

If you manufacture plastic packaging, two duties apply on top of the product-safety rules: extended producer responsibility for packaging (EPR) and the Plastic Packaging Tax. They are separate schemes with different regulators — EPR is an environmental reporting scheme, and the Plastic Packaging Tax is administered by HM Revenue and Customs — but both turn on how much packaging you handle, so work out where you sit against each threshold early.

A. Packaging producer responsibility (EPR)

Under extended producer responsibility, businesses that supply or import packaging must collect and report data on the packaging they handle. Whether you are a "small" or "large" producer depends on your turnover and packaging tonnage: small producers (broadly over £1 million turnover and 25 tonnes of packaging) report data, while large producers (over £2 million and 50 tonnes) also pay disposal fees and meet recycling obligations. You report through the Report packaging data service. The scheme is run UK-wide by PackUK as the scheme administrator, which calculates and invoices the disposal fees; the Environment Agency in England — with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Natural Resources Wales and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency — are the regulators that enforce it.

B. Plastic Packaging Tax

If you manufacture 10 or more tonnes of finished plastic packaging components in a 12-month period, you must register with HM Revenue and Customs, file quarterly returns and pay the Plastic Packaging Tax on packaging that contains less than 30% recycled plastic. You may still need to register and report even where most of your packaging is exempt or zero- rated, so keep records of the recycled content of every component. The tax is a UK-wide HMRC regime, with the rate set each year.

  1. 1

    1. Measure the packaging you handle and make

    Work out your annual packaging tonnage and the tonnage of finished plastic packaging components you manufacture, with the recycled content of each.

  2. 2

    2. Check where you sit against each threshold

    Compare your turnover and tonnage against the EPR small/large producer thresholds, and your manufactured plastic-packaging tonnage against the 10-tonne Plastic Packaging Tax threshold.

  3. 3

    3. Register for the schemes that apply

    Register for EPR and report through the Report packaging data service; register for the Plastic Packaging Tax with HMRC if you cross the 10-tonne threshold.

  4. 4

    4. Report and pay on time

    Submit your EPR data by the reporting deadlines and pay any disposal fees; file quarterly Plastic Packaging Tax returns and pay the tax due.

  5. 5

    5. Keep the records that support your figures

    Keep evidence of packaging tonnages and recycled content to support your EPR data and your Plastic Packaging Tax returns, including for exempt or zero-rated packaging.

What to do next

These reporting and tax duties sit alongside the workplace, chemicals and product-conformity rules every plastics manufacturer follows. Make sure those are in place with Set up and run a safe rubber or plastics factory and Place rubber and plastic products on the market, then confirm everything with the rubber and plastics manufacturer compliance checklist.

Official sources

Authoritative guidance on packaging producer responsibility and the Plastic Packaging Tax.