The situation
Packaging specifications and volumes by product and destination, uploaded as spreadsheets
A French cosmetics group ships to Spain, Italy and the UK, mostly in plastic bottles and tubes, some with recycled content. The Spanish distributor has started asking for figures on non-recycled plastic. The UK subsidiary imports filled products, and nobody has checked whether it should be registered for the UK tax.
The CFO wants one note before the budget round: which taxes apply, who the taxpayer is in each country, what recycled content does to the bill, and what records must exist. The packaging data sits in three spreadsheets with different units and different product names.
What the research has to settle
The rules behind the answer
- The UK taxes components below a recycled threshold
- The UK plastic packaging tax applies to plastic packaging components made in or imported into the UK with less than 30% recycled plastic. It covers packaging imported around filled goods, and businesses above a weight threshold must register.
- Spain taxes the non-recycled plastic
- Spain’s special tax on non-reusable plastic packaging is charged on the weight of non-recycled plastic in packaging made in, imported into or acquired from another member state into Spain. Recycled content must be evidenced to reduce the base.
- Italy’s tax has been enacted and deferred
- Italy enacted a tax on single-use plastic products and has deferred its start several times. Whether and from when it applies is something the research has to confirm on the date of the note.
- The EU contribution is not a business tax
- The EU’s own resource based on non-recycled plastic packaging waste is paid by member states, not by companies. National taxes and packaging EPR fees are what reach the business.
How it runs in azta
From the question to the document
The question, as you would type it
Attached is our packaging data by SKU. We are a French group shipping filled cosmetics to a Spanish distributor, an Italian distributor and our UK subsidiary. Which plastic packaging taxes apply in Spain, Italy and the UK, who is liable in each, and how does recycled content change the base?
You start with
Packaging specifications and volumes by product and destination, uploaded as spreadsheets
- 01
Upload the packaging data
Add the packaging specifications and the shipment volumes. azta reads the files and points back to the rows it used.
File upload· Pro - 02
Research each tax
Ask who is liable in each country for packaging the group ships. azta cites the Spanish, Italian and UK legislation and the EU rules.
Cited research· Free - 03
Check the status in force
Open the Italian provisions in the reader to see their in-force status on today’s date, and the Spanish rules on recycled content.
Atlas statute reader - 04
Draft the CFO note
Ask for a note by country: taxpayer, base, records and next steps. Edit it in Canvas.
Canvas · Ask azta· Pro You send
A CFO note on plastic packaging tax exposure in each country
What you get
A CFO note on plastic packaging tax exposure in each country
CFO note · draft
Plastic packaging taxes: exposure by country
United Kingdom. Our UK subsidiary imports filled products and so imports the packaging. Components with less than 30% recycled plastic are taxable. On the volumes in the file, the subsidiary appears to be above the registration threshold, which needs confirming against twelve months of data.
Spain. Packaging we ship to the Spanish distributor is acquired by it from another member state. On the reading in the annex, the distributor is the taxpayer on that acquisition and needs the non-recycled plastic weight for its return. We should supply certified figures.
Italy. The start of the Italian plastic tax has been deferred repeatedly. The position on the date of this note is in the annex, and we will review it at each budget. We will keep the packaging data in a form that would support a return.
Outcomes on your numbers
What azta is worth on this task
Pro pays for itself after
12 minutes a month
At €140 an hour, that is all the time Pro (€27 a month) has to take off your desk to cover its price.
Example figures. Replace them with your own.
- Hours back a year
- 32
- Capacity at your rate
- €4,536
- More packaging tax reviews a quarter
- 0.7
- Return on Pro
- 14×
- Research
- Drafting
- Your review
A scenario you set, not a promise. The hours that come back go to another client, or deeper into this one.
Want these numbers on your team’s real workload?
Book a demoSources azta searches here
- BOE
- legislation.gov.uk
- Normattiva
- EUR-Lex · Curia
What stays with you
- The packaging data and the recycled-content certificates.
- Agreeing with distributors who declares and who pays.
- Registration and filing in each country.
Frequently asked questions
- Can azta read our packaging spreadsheets?
- Yes. Upload them and ask. azta reads the files and points back to the rows it used. Check unit conversions and totals in your own model.
- Does this cover packaging EPR fees?
- Ask about them separately. EPR registration and fees are a different regime from these taxes, and azta researches the national packaging laws for them.
- Does azta hold tax-authority guidance on recycled content?
- Not for every country. It holds the legislation and EU law and says what it cites, so you can see where guidance still needs checking.
