Spain: Details about tax on landfill, waste incineration

Law 7/2022 includes a tax imposed on landfill, incineration, and co-incineration of waste.

Law 7/2022 includes a tax imposed on landfill, incineration, and co-incineration of waste.

Law 7/2022—published in the official gazette on 9 April 2022—includes a tax imposed on landfill, incineration, and co-incineration of waste.

The measures in Law 7/2022 transpose EU Directives (EU) 2018/851 on waste and (EU) 2019/904 on single-use plastics into Spanish domestic law and also repeal Law 22/2011 that, to date, was the legislative framework governing the tax treatment of waste in Spain. Read TaxNewsFlash

Law 7/2022 introduces two new taxes that will be effective 1 January 2022:

  • The excise tax on non-reusable plastic packaging
  • The tax on landfill, incineration and co-incineration of waste

Tax on landfill, waste incineration

In general, the tax on landfill and waste incineration is an indirect tax on any waste generated that is destined for disposal via landfill, incineration or co-incineration. The tax will become chargeable upon disposal at the landfill or upon incineration or co-incineration at the relevant facilities. The tax will apply throughout Spain, is to be collected by the autonomous regions, and will replace the existing regional taxes.

There are certain limited exemptions from liability for the tax.

  • The party liable for the tax will be the party delivering the waste to landfills or incineration or co-incineration facilities, with the managers of the landfills or facilities being deemed to be a substitute taxpayer. Substitute taxpayers must charge the amount of the tax accruing in respect of taxpayers, separately by invoice. 
  • The tax base will be calculated for each facility based on the weight of waste deposited at landfills, incinerated or co-incinerated. The tax rate will depend on the taxable event in question, and will range from €0 to €40 per ton.
  • A failure to register for the tax on landfill and waste incineration will be considered a tax infringement that can trigger a penalty of €1,000.

Read an April 2022 report [PDF 183 KB] prepared by the KPMG member firm in Spain

 

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