Midwich Ltd – Plastic Packaging Tax Statement

Midwich Ltd – Plastic Packaging Tax Statement 

What is the Plastic Packaging Tax? 

This tax came into force on April 1st, 2022, and applies to plastic packaging imported into the UK, that does not contain at least 30% recycled plastic. 

Scope 

The tax applies to manufacturers who import certain finished plastic packaging materials, or importers of finished goods that contain plastic packaging, and the packaging remains in the UK. 

This applies to both UK and overseas based organisations importing into the UK. If the manufacturer relies on the distributor to import the goods into the UK, then the distributor takes on the manufacturers responsibility to pay the tax in the UK. 

What is the purpose of the tax? 

To increase the use of recycled material in the production of plastic packaging. The tax encourages businesses to work with suppliers of products whose packaging includes recycled material. Demand for recycled material is expected to increase the collection and recycling of waste plastic – reducing the amount which is landfilled or incinerated. 

Cost 

The Plastic Packaging Tax rate is £228.82 per tonne of chargeable plastic packaging components from 1 April 2026. Midwich will monitor future changes announced by HMRC and update this statement as required. 

Midwich will, where possible, investigate ways to mitigate any cost increases to its customers however where this is not possible costs may be passed through the supply chain. 

Our Actions 

Midwich is fully committed to reducing its environmental impact through a range of initiatives. To comply with the plastic packaging tax we will: 

• Work with suppliers to gather the required information quickly and efficiently either directly and/or by engaging a 3rd party specialist 
• Identify in scope, out of scope, and exempt packaging 
• Identify packaging that has a recycled content of 30% or greater 
• Confirm whether Midwich and its relevant subsidiaries are below, meet or exceed the 10-tonne registration threshold for Plastic Packaging Tax 
• Determine our Plastic Packaging Tax liability 
• If we meet the requirement, Midwich will register on the HMRC website to confirm that we import more than 10 tonnes of plastic packaging 
• Use reasonable endeavours to ensure accurate and timely HMRC registrations, returns and declarations 
• If requested by HMRC, provide evidence for all exemptions and recycled content declarations 
• Identify which of our suppliers contribute the most to our liabilities for future targeted packaging improvements