| Guvnor

Enforced by: Local Authority, Revenue Scotland
Status: Amended (in force with amendments)
Penalty ceiling: Prosecution 8 of 26 obligations carry an unlimited fine. 2 carry different penalties and 16 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.

Does it bind you?

Business-side roles with duties under this instrument.

Any Person11 Trader1

Plus 14 duties on the regulator, Crown ministers and public bodies — folded into the section list below.

Other Acts binding the same actors

If a role above is yours, these are the other instruments that most often bind it.

Any Person — also bound by 2340 other Acts

Human Medicines Regulations 2012 184 duties

Merchant Shipping Act 1995 144 duties

Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 104 duties

Communications Act 2003 92 duties

Road Traffic Act 1988 92 duties

Trader — also bound by 825 other Acts

Value Added Tax Regulations 1995 416 duties

Companies Act 2006 243 duties

The Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 133 duties

Companies Act 1985 85 duties

Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 62 duties

What it requires

Sections creating concrete business duties or carrying penalties, grouped as the instrument is structured. Titles link to the source text — blue means you’re leaving for legislation.gov.uk.

Part 1

Visitor levy

0 of 2 sections shown

2 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional

s.001 Power for local authorities to impose levy

s.002 Overview

Part 2

Key concepts

1 of 9 sections shown

s.006 Rate for levy Regulated

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator

Local authorities must set the Visitor Levy rateLocal authority

8 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional

s.003 Levy to be charged on purchase of overnight accommodation

s.004 Meaning of overnight accommodation

s.005 Calculation of levy

s.007 Maximum number of nights of overnight accommodation

s.008 Person liable to pay levy

s.009 Third party arrangements

s.010 Billing of overnight accommodation

s.011 Exemptions and rebates

Part 3

Introduction and administration of the levy

8 of 12 sections shown

s.013 Prior consultation on scheme Regulated

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator

Local authorities must consult before starting or changing a visitor levyLocal authority

s.014 Required content of a scheme Regulated

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator

Local authorities must specify visitor levy rules and 18-month lead timesLocal authority

s.015 Publicity for introduction of scheme Regulated

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator

Local authorities must notify Ministers and publicise the Visitor Levy schemeLocal authority

s.016 Visitor levy forum Regulated

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator

Local authorities must establish and maintain a Visitor Levy forumLocal authority

s.018 Duty to keep separate account for scheme Regulated

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator

Local authorities must maintain a separate account for the Visitor LevyLocal authority

s.019 Use of net proceeds of scheme Regulated

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator

Local authorities must spend visitor levy proceeds on tourism and facilitiesLocal authority

s.020 Annual reporting on scheme Regulated

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator

Local authorities must publish annual reports on Visitor Levy schemesLocal authority

s.021 Review of scheme Regulated

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator

Local authorities must review and report on the Visitor Levy schemeLocal authority

4 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional

s.012 Scheme to impose levy

s.017 Transitional provision

s.022 Scottish Ministers’ power to regulate process

s.023 Guidance on visitor levy scheme

Part 4

Returns and payment

4 of 6 sections shown

s.026 Duty to make returns Prosecution

Submit visitor levy returns and assessments to the local authorityAny Person

Unlimited fine

s.027 Form and content of return Regulated

Submit visitor levy returns in the format required by the councilTrader

s.028 Duty to keep and preserve records Prosecution

Keep and preserve visitor levy records for 5 yearsAny Person

Unlimited fine

s.029 Payment of levy Prosecution

Pay the visitor levy to the local authorityAny Person

Unlimited fine

2 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional

s.024 Delegation of collection and enforcement functions

s.025 Interpretation

Part 5

Enforcement of the levy and penalties

12 of 43 sections shown

s.032 Complying with information notices Regulated

Comply with information notices for the visitor levyAny Person

s.040 Carrying out inspections under section 38 and 39 Regulated

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator

Revenue Scotland must follow specific notice rules for levy inspectionsStatutory regulator

s.042 Power to copy and remove documents Regulated

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator

Authorised officers may copy or remove documents during inspectionsStatutory regulator

s.048 Three month penalty for failure to make return Prosecution

Fail to make required return after three‑month deadlineAny Person

Unlimited fine

s.049 Six month penalty for failure to make return Prosecution

Fail to submit required visitor‑levy return within six monthsAny Person

Unlimited fine

s.050 Twelve month penalty for failure to make return Prosecution

Fail to make return within 12 monthsAny Person

Unlimited fine

s.056 Penalties for failure to comply or obstruction Prosecution

Fail to comply with information notice or obstruct inspectionAny Person

Unlimited fine

s.059 Penalties for inaccurate information or documents Prosecution

Provide inaccurate information to a local authorityAny Person

Unlimited fine

s.063 Enforcement of penalties Regulated

Fail to pay visitor levy penalties on timeAny Person

s.067 Interest on penalties Regulated

Pay interest on late visitor levy penaltiesAny Person

s.071 Reviews Regulated

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator

Scottish Ministers must establish rules for reviewing levy decisionsCrown / Minister / Government department

s.072 Appeals Regulated

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator

Scottish Ministers must establish rules for Visitor Levy appealsCrown / Minister / Government department

31 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional

s.030 Power to obtain information and documents from the liable person

s.031 Power to obtain information and documents from third parties

s.033 Producing copies of documents

s.034 Further provision about powers relating to information notices

s.035 Information notices: general restrictions

s.036 Types of information

s.037 Protection for privileged communications between legal advisers and clients

s.038 Power to inspect business premises

s.039 Power to inspect business premises of third parties

s.041 Carrying out inspections under section 38 or 39 : further provision

s.043 Restriction on inspection of documents

s.044 Electronic records

s.045 Power to allow a local authority to make or substitute an assessment

s.046 Power of local authorities to impose penalties

s.047 Penalty for failure to make returns

s.051 Reasonable excuse for failure to make return

s.052 Penalty for failure to pay levy

s.053 Reasonable excuse for failure to pay levy

s.054 Penalty for failure to keep and preserve records

s.055 Reasonable excuse for failure to keep and preserve records

s.057 Daily default penalties for failure to comply or obstruction

s.058 Reasonable excuse for failure to comply or obstruction

s.060 Concealing, destroying etc. documents following information notice

s.061 Concealing, destroying etc. documents following information notification

s.062 Assessment of penalties

s.064 Failure to comply with time limit

s.065 Power of local authorities to reduce, suspend or waive penalties

s.066 Interest on unpaid levy

s.068 Rate of interest

s.069 Power to change penalty provisions

s.070 Summary warrant

Part 6

Registers of Liable Persons and Information Sharing

0 of 2 sections shown

2 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional

s.073 Registers of liable persons

s.074 Power to share information

Part 7

Final provisions

1 of 6 sections shown

s.075 Report on operation of Act Regulated

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator

Scottish Ministers must review and report on the Visitor Levy operationCrown / Minister / Government department

5 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional

s.076 Interpretation of Act

s.077 Regulation-making powers

s.078 Ancillary provision

s.079 Commencement

s.080 Short title

Help complying

Guvnor’s practical routes through this instrument.

Starting a short-term lets business in Scotland

Learning path for new short-term let operators in Scotland covering mandatory licensing, control areas, planning permission, and the Edinburgh visitor levy.

Scotland Airbnb compliance checklist

Quick compliance checklist for short-term let hosts in Scotland covering STL licence requirements, safety conditions, and control area rules.

Starting a hospitality business in Scotland

Complete learning path for new hospitality businesses in Scotland covering alcohol licensing, personal licences, minimum unit pricing, business rates, and the Edinburgh …

Prepare for Scotland's visitor levy

What accommodation providers in Scotland need to know about the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024, including Edinburgh's scheme starting July 2026.

1 more guide that reference this instrument

Running an Airbnb in Scotland legally

Duty extraction and severity labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the instrument, not the instrument itself. Always verify against the linked source text.