(Defra) Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs have reminded larger retailers in England of their requirement to charge 5p for single use carrier bags to their customers. This charge will be required from October 5th 2015 and if the retailers affected by this do not comply and charge at least 5p for their single use carrier bags they could face fines of up to £20’000.
Its important to note that the carrier bag tax will only affect the larger retailer in England, if you have 250 staff or less (including those in retail and non retail roles) then the carrier bag tax does not apply to your business. Another key point is that this tax does not apply to promotional bags which are given away at events or paper bags.
Single use bags that are affected by the tax include:
- unused – it’s new and hasn’t been used previously for sold goods to be taken away or delivered
- plastic
- with handles
- 70 microns thick or less
Also if you deliver goods to your customers in single use carrier bags the same tax rules apply but rather than a charge per bag you are able to charge on the average number of bags used as you may not know how many bags are required at the point of taking the order for delivery. However if you goods are sent out in sealed mailing bags you are not required to charge for them.
For more information on the Carrier Bag Tax you can visit https://www.gov.uk/carrier-bag-charges-retailers-responsibilities
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