natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
ASSESSMENT UNDER THE 2008 EAG
Förenade kungariket ska på kommissionens begäran omgående inkomma med uppgifter till kommissionen om de åtgärder som redan har vidtagits eller som planeras för att följa detta beslut.
Given the environmental purpose of the AGL, with the occasion of the Opening Decision, the Commission had also examined the tax exemptions and exclusions under chapter 4 of the 2008 EAG that concerns operating aid in the form of reductions of environmental taxes.
Förenade konungariket Storbritannien och Nordirland ska även lämna detaljerade uppgifter om de stöd- och räntebelopp som återkrävts av stödmottagarna.
Environmental taxes are defined in paragraph 70(14) of the 2008 EAG as ‘taxes whose specific tax base has a clear negative effect on the environment or which seek to tax certain activities, goods or services so that the environmental costs may be included in their price and/or so that producers and consumers are oriented towards activities which better respect the environment.’
Artikel 8
The Commission acknowledged that it is not contested that the extraction of aggregates has a negative impact on the environment, in particular in the form of damage to biodiversity, dust, noise, and visual amenity.
Detta beslut riktar sig till Förenade konungariket Storbritannien och Nordirland.
This is further substantiated by the studies commissioned by the UK authorities referred to in recital 17 of the Opening Decision.
Utfärdat i Bryssel den 27 mars 2015.
The AGL thus constitutes an environmental tax within the meaning of point 70(14) of the 2008 EAG and the tax exemptions could be assessed under Chapter 4 of the 2008 EAG in so far as they applied as of 2 April 2008.
På kommissionens vägnar
In accordance with paragraph 151 of the 2008 EAG, aid in the form of reductions from environmental taxes will be considered compatible with the internal market provided that it contributes at least indirectly to an improvement of the level of environmental protection and that the tax reductions do not undermine the general objective pursued.
EUT C 348, 28.11.2013, s.
As explained in paragraph 57 of the 2008 EAG, reductions from environmental taxes concerning certain sectors or categories of undertakings are accepted under Chapter 4 of the 2008 EAG if they make it feasible to adopt higher taxes for other undertakings, thus resulting in an overall improvement of cost internalisation, and to create further incentives to improve on environmental protection.
162.
The Commission considered that this type of aid may be necessary to target negative externalities indirectly by facilitating the introduction or maintenance of relatively high national environmental taxation.
EGT C 133, 5.6.2002, s. 11.
The Commission considered that, in this case, the possibility to grant exemptions for certain materials might have enabled the United Kingdom to introduce the AGL.
Se fotnot 1.
The BAA maintains that the exemptions do not fulfil the criteria enshrined by the 2008 EAG and could not be found compatible on this basis.
FAOterm:
The BAA claims that, the exemptions do not contribute to an improvement of the level of environmental protection and, in fact, undermine the general objective pursued (paragraph 151 of 2008 EAG).
Oxford Dictionary of Construction, Surveying & Civil Engineering, Christopher Gorse, David Johnston och Martin Pritchard, Oxford University Press 2012;
The BAA refers to a quarry mentioned in the Cornish Building Stone and Slate Guide 2007 as a slate and shale quarry producing walling stone to illustrate that quarries are exempted just because they produce shale and slate, thus undermining the objective of the tax as it creates even greater demand in the construction industry for such materials.
Glossary of Building and Civil Engineering Terms, British Standard Institution, Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1993, 100–4403; http://www.uepg.eu/what-are-aggregates.
As per their submission, the BAA is aware [89] of a number of instances where quarry operators have opened slate and shale quarries, simply as a result of and in order to benefit from the advantages deriving from the AGL exemptions.
Se även mål T-210/02 RENV av den 7 mars 2012, British Aggregates Association mot kommissionen, ECLI:EU:T:2012:110, punkt 1.
Moreover, quarries subject to the AGL have experienced a significant reduction in sales of low-value by-product or waste such as scalpings and quarry fines.
Betong är en blandning av ballast, cement och vatten.
According to the BAA, this demonstrates that the AGL has completely failed to achieve its environmental objective as some piles are replaced with others.
Ballast används i stor utsträckning inom dränering på grund av dess höga hydrauliska konduktivitetsvärde.
The BAA submits examples of lime quarries the primary product of which is un-taxed agricultural lime, and which have accumulated such high heaps of waste and unsold by-product, that the production of agricultural lime is impeded even with increased demand.
Ballast används som grundmaterial under fundament, vägar och järnvägar.
The BAA claims that points 158(b) and 158(c) of 2008 EAG aim at preventing the placing of a business at a competitive disadvantage on the basis that it is subject to taxation whereas its direct competitors are not.
I detta fall kan den vara till hjälp med att fylla håligheter och skydda rörledningar (rör som lagts för överföring av konsumtionsvatten, eller skyddsrör för kablar som behöver skyddas från vassa föremål i marken och därför läggs på och innesluts av finkornig ballast innan dikena återfylls).
However, according to the BAA, in this instance, it is clear that competitors of the producers which benefit from the exemption are in fact subject to taxation and are unable to sell their products due to the disadvantages caused by the AGL exemptions.
Ballast bidrar också till att bilda hårda ytor (den förhindrar differentiell sedimentering under vägen, byggnaden eller järnvägen).
The BAA claims that the exemption for shale is not necessary and proportionate (paragraphs 155 to 159).
Obelagda vägar och parkeringsplatser täcks av ett ytlager ballast för att skapa en fastare yta för fordon, från cyklar till lastbilar.
The BAA alleges that the exemptions for slate, clay and shale are not based on objective criteria and that operators producing the same products are treated very differently, based on the geology of their area.
Detta förhindrar att fordonen sjunker ner i marken, särskilt vid regnväder.
Moreover, none of the criteria for proportionality are met and the exemptions go beyond a period of 10 years.
Wikipedia:
The BAA have provided to the Commission a separate letter from a quarry regarding the effects of the AGL on their sales of low value products (secondary aggregates), i.e. sub-bases, scalpings, crusher-run, quarry fines which have fallen by two thirds.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Construction_aggregate (29.5.2013). http://sustainableaggregates.com/overview/uses.htm (29.5.2013).
The BAA has provided to the Commission a study of the effects on aggregates production since the introduction of the AGL in 2002 drafted by BDS Marketing Research Ltd in February 2014 for the BAA.
Europeisk standard BSEN 12620:2002.
An aggregates levy of GBP 2 per tonne can represent a half or a third of the total cost of lower value aggregates to the customer.
http://sustainableaggregates.com/overview/uses.htm (29.5.2013).
The conclusion of the study is that the main effect of the AGL has been an increase in the use of exempted aggregates (primary and by-product) at the expense of taxed by-products of taxed high value materials.
HM Customs & Excises – Consultation on a Potential Aggregates Tax – Summary of Replies, april 1999, punkt 18.
Quarrying companies have found it difficult — often impossible — to find markets for these remaining lower value materials.
Till exempel används sand, vanligtvis kvartssand, för att tillverka formar i gjuterier.
On occasions, this has involved sterilising good quality reserves.
Kvartssand är även det filtreringsmedium som huvudsakligen används inom vattenindustrin för att extrahera fasta partiklar från avloppsvatten.
The report mentions that since 2001 sales of primary (high value) aggregates fell by 24,9 %, due to the recession.
Kalk tas upp av växter (grödor eller gräs) och träd, men försvinner även naturligt från jorden genom urlakning på grund av regnvatten och användning av gödselmedel.
Sales of taxed by-product aggregates have fallen by 60 %, i.e. 31,5 million tonnes, since introduction of the AGL in 2002.
Detta kan leda till ökad surhet, minskning av jordens bördighet och ibland en skadlig inverkan på jordstrukturen.
Sales of taxed by-products amounted in 2001 to 52190 and in 2011 to 20648 and sales of taxed primary (high value) aggregates fell from 188843 in 2001 to 141754 in 2011.
MPG6 – Guidelines for Aggregates Provision in England 1994, punkt 6-123.23.
The sales decrease is also presented in a graph:
Budget announcement March 2000 – Prudent for a Purpose:
Proportion of sales of taxed by-products since 2001 — Total
Protecting the environment – Regenerating our cities/protecting our countryside – Waste, Aggregates, punkt 6.91;
Three detailed graphs are included as regards the evolution of sales of taxed by products in the following categories:
Pre-Budget Report – November 2001 – Chapter 7:
Volumes of exempt aggregates sold appear to have increased from less than 5 million tonnes to nearly 30 million tonnes since the introduction of the AGL.
Protecting the environment, punkt 6.91.
These figures exclude quarries that produce only exempt aggregates as these sites are not required to produce returns.
Skrivelse av den 19 februari 2002, registrerad den 21 februari 2002 under A/31371, punkt 4.10.
Thus, according to the study, the total increase in exempt volumes would be even higher than the six fold increase suggested by the figures.
Denna bestämmelse är avsedd att täcka de fall där ballast överförs från en plats till en annan som tillhör samma aktör.
The study shows that there has been a steady increase in volumes of sales of exempt aggregates every year.
Överföring från en plats till en annan plats omfattas vanligtvis inte av skatten på ballast, se avsnitt 19.3 b i 2001 års skattelag.
It concludes that an increasing number of quarries are gaining full or partial exemptions, i.e. taxable sales are being converted into exempt sales.
De brittiska myndigheterna angav att ballast är föremål för ett leveransavtal om ett avtal ingås eller när varorna byter ägare och en handling upprättas.
Demand for recycled aggregates has increased only slightly since the introduction of the AGL in 2002.
I avsnitt 19.6 i 2001 års skattelag anges att ballast blir föremål för avtalet vid den tidpunkt då den kan identifieras separat.
It was the introduction of the landfill tax in 1996 that resulted in an increase in demand for recycled aggregates.
I avsnittet anges även för tillämpning av skatten på ballast att ägarbyte av mark på vilken ballast finns inte automatiskt är liktydigt med anskaffning av ballasten också.
According to BDS, the place of the low value taxed aggregates has been taken by the low value aggregates benefiting from the exemption as illustrated in the table below:
Tillåtna omständigheter fastställs i avsnitt 19, underavsnitt 7.
BDS estimates of the low-value aggregates market, by type of aggregate
Detta avser situationen där ballasten blandas med skattepliktig ballast som inte tidigare har belastats med skatten på ballast och blandningen i sin helhet äger rum på en plats som är ursprungsplatsen, en plats som har registrerats under samma namn som ursprungsplatsen eller en plats till vilken ballast har transporterats för att genomgå en skattebefriad process som den sedermera inte har genomgått.
Change (%)
Landningsplatsen för ballast motsvarar en ursprungsplats enbart för ballast som utvinns från brittisk havsbotten/brittiska vatten.
Quarries
Se även meddelande AGL 1:
(taxed low value materials only)
Aggregates Levy, april 2011, punkt 8.1.
Total
Se meddelande AGL 1.
enabled the United Kingdom to introduce the AGL as the exemptions made it feasible to adopt higher environmental taxes for other undertakings engaged in the production of aggregate, which further incentivises the achievement of the AGL's environmental objective and results in an overall improvement of cost internalisation.
Meddelande AGL 2 Industrial and Agricultural Processes Relief, tillgängligt på webbplatsen för HM Revenue & Customs.
The UK authorities maintain that through the exemptions, the AGL aims to encourage the use of recycled or by-product material (which arises during a process not intended to produce aggregate), so as to reduce the demand for virgin aggregate and thereby reduce the environmental damage associated with aggregates quarrying.
De skattebefrielser och skatteundantag som föreskrivs i avsnitten 17.3 e och 17.3 f i och ii, avsnitt 17.4 a (i den mån det skattebefriade materialet i sin helhet består av kol, brunkol, lerskiffer och skiffer som används som ballast eller huvudsakligen består av kol, brunkol, lerskiffer eller skiffer), avsnitt 17.4 c i och ii (när det främst består av schaktavfall), 17.4 f (när det gäller lera), 18.2 b (i den mån som det gäller en skattebefriad process som rör material som används som ballast), och 30.1 b (i den mån som det gäller en skattebefriad process i den mening som avses i avsnitt 18.2 b och som rör material som används som ballast) i 2001 års skattelag, ändrad genom 2002 års skattelag och 2007 års skattelag.
The UK authorities submit that each exemption under investigation leads to an improvement in environmental protection in at least one of the following ways:
Gemenskapens riktlinjer för statligt stöd till skydd för miljön (EGT C 37, 3.2.2001, s. 3).
helps to shift demand away from further aggregate quarrying;
Gemenskapens riktlinjer för statligt stöd till miljöskydd (EUT C 82, 1.4.2008, s. 1).
and/or (ii) helps to reduce the build-up of waste.
Richard Bird har inte lämnat några exempel eller bevis i detta avseende.
The exemption for shale meets criteria laid down in Chapter 4 of the 2008 EAG.
Se fotnot 31.
Shale is suitable for use as aggregate in some instances, but its physical composition and the slabby shapes which it forms render it unsuitable for more-high end applications.
Se till exempel Competition Commission Aggregates Cement and Ready-mix Concrete Market Investigation, arbetsdokument rörande avgränsning av marknaden av den 1 november 2011, punkt 19 och Provisional Findings Report av den 21 maj 2013, punkterna 5.5 b, 5.6 b och 5.24;
The UK authorities claim that since shale is not known to be extracted for the specific purposes of commercial exploitation as aggregate, it is only obtained as an unavoidable by-product.
OFT:s beslut av den 2 november 2011, Proposed Joint Venture between Anglo American plc and Lafarge SA, ME/5007/11, punkt 72.
The use of shale reduces the demand for freshly extracted aggregate, and thus, its exemption from the AGL reduces the environmental damage that is associated with aggregate extraction.
Se de förenade målen C-328/99 och C-399/00 Italien och SIM 2 Multimedia mot kommissionen (REG 2003, s.
Its exemption from the levy also helps to reduce the build-up of waste heaps of material and reduces the visual damage associated with that.
I-4035), punkt 35, mål C-222/04 Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze m.fl.
Moreover, as regards spoil of shale extraction, the UK authorities claim that through incentivising the use of spoil which arises unintentionally and unavoidably, the exemption shifts demand away from quarried aggregate, thereby reducing the environmental damage caused by it.
Mål C-143/99 Adria-Wien Pipeline (REG 2001, s.
The UK authorities argue that even if the Commission were to find that there is evidence that any of the exempted materials are deliberately extracted for use as aggregate, the exemptions afforded to these materials would still directly contribute to the achievement of the AGL's environmental objective.
I-8365), punkt 41.
They claim that, if there is any evidence that any exempted materials are in fact being deliberately extracted for use as aggregate, this would at most be on a very small scale at a strictly limited number of quarries.
Mål T-210/02 RENV, British Aggregates Association, ECLI:EU:T:2012:110, punkt 51.
According to the UK authorities, if it were the case that a very limited amount of deliberate quarrying of the exempted materials for use as aggregate took place, that would not alter the fact that there is an objective justification for exempting the relevant materials.
Building A Fairer Society – Tackling tax abuse, Protecting the environment, s.
The justification would be that (a) the materials are not normally extracted for use as aggregate;
27:
and (b) the quarrying of these materials generates a large amount of unavoidable by-product and waste which can be used as aggregate when the right commercial incentives are present.
Mål T-210/02 RENV, British Aggregates Association, ECLI:EU:T:2012:110, punkt 66.
The UK authorities contend that even if a small number of quarries were to be deliberately extracting exempt material for use as aggregate, the exemptions remain justified if they make it feasible to adopt higher taxes for other undertakings, thus resulting in an overall improvement of cost internalisation and providing further incentives to achieve the AGL's environmental objective.
HM Customs & Excises – Consultation on a Potential Aggregates Tax – Summary of Replies, april 1999, punkt 13.
The UK authorities provided argumentation in this regard for colliery spoil shale.
Inga sådana bevis har inkommit till kommissionen.
The Commission has already established that the AGL is a tax pursuing an environmental objective.
Se fotnot 42.
However, a general exemption for shale appears to undermine the environmental objective of the AGL as it has the potential to encourage the extraction of shale and shale spoil, as also found by the General Court [90].
En kopia av e-postmeddelandet har lämnats in till kommissionen.
Shale is a material which can be used as aggregate, albeit in somewhat limited occasions as low-grade aggregate, and which is being used as aggregate and extracted specifically for use as aggregate, as the interested parties submissions and evidence received by the Commission show.
Affärshemlighet.
Shale extracted specifically for use as aggregate is, in fact, a freshly extracted material and an exemption simply incentivises further extraction.
Se fotnot 39.
Therefore, given that the Commission has found cases where shale is deliberately extracted for commercial exploitation as aggregate, a general exemption for shale only makes its extraction more competitive and encourages further extraction.
Skälen 58 och 59 i beslutet om att inleda förfarandet.
In addition, shale is currently exempted when it is extracted as a by-product of material which is taxed (such as gritstone, sandstone and limestone).
Se T-210/02 RENV – British Aggregates mot kommissionen, ECLI:EU:T:2012:110, punkt 64.
The Commission noted above in recital 365 that the exemption does differentiate between shale and other taxed materials, such as other by-products of the main extraction of gritstone, sandstone and limestone.
Se T-210/02 RENV – British Aggregates mot kommissionen, ECLI:EU:T:2012:110, punkt 55.
The Commission also considered whether such tax differentiation could be justified by the objective of the AGL.
Se avsnitt 48.2 i 2001 års skattelag.
However, the Commission has not received any evidence from the UK authorities or from interested parties showing that this exemption contributes to the achievement of the AGL's objective which is to reduce the fresh quarrying of material for aggregates purposes.
Avsnitt 18.2 b:
Moreover, the exemption does not help reduce the build-up of waste in general as it simply replaces the build-up of heaps of shale with the build-up of heaps of taxed low quality aggregates which can no longer find a buyer.
en process genom vilken ett relevant material utvinns eller på annat sätt separeras (antingen som en del av processen för att utvinna det från mark eller på annat sätt) från ballast.
The UK authorities claim that the exemption for shale made it feasible to adopt higher taxes for other undertakings;
I avsnitt 30.1 b i 2001 års skattelag föreskrivs en skattelättnad om materialet har genomgått en skattebefriad process i den mening som avses i avsnitten 18.2 a, b och c i 2001 års skattelag när materialet redan har belastats med skatten på ballast.
however they did not provide arguments for such claim as to allow the Commission to consider this justification in its assessment.
Dessa ämnen kan också åtnjuta en skattelättnad om skatten betalades och den skattebefriade processen ägde rum efteråt (avsnitt 30.1 b).
The only argumentation provided by the UK authorities in this regard relates to colliery spoil, the exemption for which was already considered by the Commission not to constitute State aid.
Bedömningen av undantaget gäller för skattelättnaden i tillämpliga delar.
The UK authorities claim that even if the Commission found evidence that shale is extracted for commercial exploitation as aggregate, the exemption would still serve an environmental purpose due to the limited amount of deliberate quarrying.
Skäl 73 i beslutet om att inleda förfarandet.
However, the Commission has found that only the exemptions from the AGL granted for: (i) material wholly or mainly consisting of shale that is deliberately extracted for commercial exploitation as aggregate, including here shale occurring as by-product of fresh quarrying of other taxed materials;
Se Glossary of Building and Civil Engineering Terms, British Standard Institution, Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1993, 630-3007 och 630-3013.
and (ii) spoil of shale that is deliberately extracted for commercial exploitation as aggregate; constitute State aid, and not in general the exemption for shale and spoil from the extraction of shale.
Skäl 83 i beslutet om att inleda förfarandet.
Therefore, the assessment of the Commission already differentiates shale in view of its deliberate quarrying for commercial exploitation as aggregate and does not regard the large amount of shale and unavoidable spoil of shale when it is not deliberately quarried for commercial exploitation as aggregate.
Inga exempel på stenbrott tillhandahölls.
Therefore, the justification of the UK authorities based on the limited exploitation as aggregate cannot serve as a basis for a common assessment of all shale and all shale spoil.
Survey of Arisings and Use of Secondary Materials as Aggregates in England and Wales in 2001, Symonds Group, november 2002.
PROPORTIONALITY
[…] uppskattade kostnaden för att producera ett ton ballast av skiffer till 5,69 brittiska pund.
Taxation of aggregates has not been harmonised at Union level and the Commission has therefore analysed proportionality of the proposed measure in the light of paragraph 159 of the 2008 EAG.
Se fotnot 60.
With respect to proportionality, each beneficiary of a reduction or exemption must in accordance with paragraph 159 of the 2008 EAG fulfil one of the following criteria:
Rapport som utarbetades år 2003 av British Geological Society för de brittiska skattemyndigheternas räkning för att hjälpa skattetjänstemännen med tillämpningen av skattebefrielserna för skiffer, lerskiffer och lera på ett geologiskt korrekt vis.
It must pay a proportion of the national tax which is broadly equivalent to the environmental performance of each individual beneficiary compared to the performance related to the best performing technique within the EEA.
Den utsträckning i vilken materialet enkelt kan klyvas längs nära parallella linjer.
The beneficiaries can benefit at most from a reduction corresponding to the increase in production costs from the tax, using the best performing technique and which cannot be passed on to customers.
Uppgifterna har hämtats från öppna källor som t.ex. internet.
It must pay at least 20 % of the national tax unless a lower rate can be justified.
På grundval av de uppgifter som inlämnats är det otydligt vilket material som ett stenbrott faktiskt producerar, trots att det förekommer i förteckningen över stenbrott som producerar lerskiffer.