BAA fails in Aggregate Levy case

The British Aggregate Association (BAA) has failed in its case against the Aggregates Levy.

The BAA case claimed that the European Commission’s (EC) State Aid approvals for the exemptions and reliefs associated with the Aggregates Levy should not have been granted.

It also asserted that the State Aid issues had not been properly investigated by the EC. These claims were rejected by the Court of the First Instance.

The court ruled that: “The decision to introduce an environmental levy… falls within the power of the member states to set their priorities in the economic, fiscal and environmental fields. The United Kingdom was accordingly free to determine, as part of its environmental policy, the minerals used as aggregates which it considered appropriate to tax and to exempt certain other materials.”

The Quarry Products Association’s director general Simon van der Byl said: “The Court of the First Instance’s judgement has clarified the status of the Aggregates Levy after a period of some uncertainty. We have advised our member companies of the judgement, with the short message being that there is currently no change.”

The BAA has two months to register an appeal following the court’s judgement, limited to questions of law.