UK Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT)
Plastic Packaging Tax applies to individual plastic packaging components containing less than 30% recycled content by weight. The assessment is per component rather than per product, and the recycled content figure has to be traceable to supplier evidence.
What you must do
- Assess each plastic packaging component against the 30% recycled content threshold. A component below the threshold is taxable, and one at or above it is not.
- Assess per component, not per SKU. A PET bottle with a PP cap, a BOPP label and a PE sleeve is four separate assessments.
- Hold evidence for every recycled content percentage. Supplier documentation, certificates of recycled content or mass balance evidence, not an internal belief that recycled content is present.
- Report to HMRC separately from the pEPR submission, on the tax return schedule rather than the pEPR reporting periods.
- Keep the figures current. Recycled content can change between batches, so a component that was exempt last quarter may be taxable this one.
What data you need
| Field | What the scheme needs |
|---|---|
| Component identity | Each plastic component held separately, because the threshold test is applied to each one on its own. |
| Component weight | The recycled content threshold is by weight, so component weight is part of the test rather than a reporting extra. |
| Recycled content percentage | Nullable, so that null (not provided), zero (supplier confirmed none) and a positive value stay distinguishable. |
| Evidence link | The supplier declaration, certificate or mass balance record behind the percentage, attached to the component it supports. |
| Date confirmed | When the figure was last confirmed by the supplier, so stale data is visible rather than assumed current. |
How fees work
The tax is charged on plastic packaging components containing less than 30% recycled content by weight. Components at or above the threshold are out of scope.
The commercial consequence of missing data is that you pay. A component with no recycled content figure is taxable, because you cannot evidence the threshold, even if the supplier does in fact use recycled material and has simply never told you. Chasing that data is a cost reduction exercise, not just a compliance one.
What Merchant produces
- A Plastic Packaging Tax data set for HMRC reporting, calculated from component level recycled content against the 30% threshold.
- The evidence trail behind each figure, so a return can be defended in an audit rather than only filed.
Common mistakes
- Assessing at product or SKU level. The threshold applies to each plastic component individually, and a compliant bottle body does not make a non-compliant cap exempt.
- Recording recycled content as a blank or a zero without distinguishing them. A confirmed zero is a known position, a blank is an unanswered question, and only one of them is worth chasing.
- Holding a percentage with no evidence behind it. "We believe it contains recycled content" is not something HMRC accepts, so an unevidenced figure is functionally the same as no figure.
- Accepting supplier data at the wrong granularity, typically a product level percentage where a component level one is needed, or a yes or no where a number is needed.
- Collecting once and never refreshing. Formulations change with resin supply, and quarterly returns against annual data will drift.
How Merchant helps
- Track recycled content per component with the null versus zero distinction
- Collect and validate recycled content figures from suppliers
- Reuse the same component data for pEPR reporting
Questions
The component. Each plastic packaging component is assessed on its own. A bottle body at 40% recycled PET is exempt while a cap at 5% on the same product is taxable.
Supplier documentation, certificates of recycled content, or mass balance evidence. The figure needs to be traceable to a source. A percentage recorded in your system with no link back to evidence is not audit ready.
It should not. A component confirmed at zero and a component nobody has asked about are both taxable, but only the second one might stop being taxable once the supplier answers. Systems that collapse both into a blank hide that opportunity.
HMRC does not prescribe a frequency. If you are filing quarterly returns, quarterly re-verification with your significant suppliers is a reasonable baseline, because recycled resin supply varies between batches.
No. Plastic Packaging Tax goes to HMRC on its own schedule. UK pEPR goes through the RPD service twice a year. They draw on the same component data, which is the reason to hold it once rather than twice.
Related reading
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Book a demoLast reviewed 2026-08-17