Fees, charges, tax rates and penalties

Current figures gathered from our guides, each with the official source. Regulator charges usually change on 1 April; tax rates change at the Budget. Check the source before you budget.

Fees, charges and rates

Climate change agreements and the Climate Change Levy

Item	Amount	Applies in	Notes
Climate Change Levy main rate, electricity and natural gas	£0.00801 per kWh 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 (£0.00827 from 1 April 2027)	EWSNI	Source
Climate Change Levy main rate, LPG	£0.02175 per kg From 1 April 2026	EWSNI	Source
Climate Change Levy main rate, other taxable commodities	£0.06264 per kg 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 (£0.06468 from 1 April 2027)	EWSNI	Source
CCA reduced-rate discounts	92% electricity, 89% gas, 77% LPG, 89% other From 1 April 2026	EWSNI	Source

Mandatory digital waste tracking

Item	Amount	Applies in	Notes
Digital waste tracking service annual fee	£26 Per organisation per year; first payment by 31 January 2027	EWSNI	Source

Environmental permits: who needs one, how to apply and what it costs

Item	Amount	Applies in	Notes
Environment Agency enhanced pre-application advice for environmental permits	£103.80 per hour plus VAT From 1 April 2026	E	Basic pre-application advice is free. Source
Environment Agency standard rules permit application — SR2010 No 2 cooling water and heat exchanger discharge	£1,390.52 2026/27	E	Source
Environment Agency bespoke environmental permit application — Part A food and drink installation (section 6.8)	£14,515.39 2026/27	E	Source
Environment Agency environmental permit application — habitats assessment add-on	£808.60 Per application, 2026/27	E	£2,302.44 for water discharge and groundwater activities. Source
NRW pre-application advice for environmental permits	£125 per hour plus VAT From 1 April 2026	W	Source
NRW standard rules environmental permit — SR2008 No 1 waste transfer station (building)	£2,009 Application; annual charge £3,143	W	Source
NRW bespoke environmental permit — low impact Part A installation	£7,722 Application; annual charge £615	W	Source

Hazardous waste: classification, consignment notes and returns

Item	Amount	Applies in	Notes
Hazardous waste consignment fee, standard (electronic / paper)	£10 / £19 Per consignment, paid by the consignee	E	Source
Hazardous waste consignment fee, multiple collection (electronic / paper)	£5 / £10 Per consignment	E	Source
Hazardous waste producer premises registration	Free Annual renewal	W	Source
Special waste consignment note codes SA / SB / SC	£15 / £10 / free Per consignment	S	Source
Hazardous waste consignment fees	£24 / £10 / free Per consignment, by type	NI	Source

Packaging EPR (extended producer responsibility for packaging)

Item	Amount	Applies in	Notes
Packaging EPR base fee 2025/26, plastic (household packaging)	£423 per tonne Scheme year 2025/26	EWSNI	Aluminium £266, fibre-based composite £461, glass £192, paper and card £196, steel £259, wood £280, other £259. Final fees published by PackUK 30 June 2025. Source
Packaging EPR red-rated packaging modulation multiplier	1.2× base fee 2026/27 (1.6× in 2027/28, 2.0× in 2028/29)	EWSNI	Amber pays the base fee; green pays below base. Source

Plastic packaging tax

Item	Amount	Applies in	Notes
Plastic packaging tax rate	£228.82 per tonne From 1 April 2026 (previously £223.69)	EWSNI	Charged on finished components with less than 30% recycled plastic. Source

Waste carrier, broker and dealer registration (and the move to permits)

Item	Amount	Applies in	Notes
Waste carrier, broker or dealer registration, upper tier, new	£191.02 Valid 3 years	E	Charges may rise by up to CPI each 1 April from 2027. Source
Waste carrier, broker or dealer registration, upper tier, renewal	£130.25 Every 3 years	E	Source
Adding a registration type (carrier, broker or dealer)	£49.62	E	Source
Waste carrier registration, upper tier, new / renewal	£184 / £126	W	Source
Transporting waste registration under EASR, new / renewal	£304.10 / £198.55 Renewal every 3 years	S	Source
Carrier registration, upper tier, new / renewal	£180 / £90	NI	Source

Waste exemptions: when you can operate without a permit

Item	Amount	Applies in	Notes
Waste exemption registration	£58.13 Per registration, valid 3 years	E	Source
Waste exemption compliance charge	£31.14 to £1,282.97 Per exemption, by risk band	E	Source

WEEE regulations: producers, retailers and online marketplaces

Item	Amount	Applies in	Notes
WEEE small producer direct registration charge	£33.48 Annual, producers under 5 tonnes	E	Source
WEEE regulator charge per online marketplace scheme member	£14,148.98 Annual	E	Source

Maximum penalties by regime

Regime	Breach	Penalty	Applies in
Battery regulations: producer responsibility and take-back	Placing batteries on the market without registering, joining a scheme or financing collection	Fine up to the statutory maximum on summary conviction; unlimited fine on indictment	EWSNI	Source
Battery regulations: producer responsibility and take-back	Distributor selling 32kg or more a year failing to offer free take-back	Fine on conviction, enforced by the Office for Product Safety and Standards	EWSNI	Source
Biodiversity net gain (BNG) for development in England	Commencing development without an approved biodiversity gain plan, or failing to deliver the secured habitat	Breach of planning control: enforcement notice, breach of condition notice, prosecution with an unlimited fine; enforcement of the section 106 agreement or conservation covenant	E	Source
Climate change agreements and the Climate Change Levy	Missing a CCA target	Buy-out payment at the published price per tonne CO2e for the shortfall	EWSNI	Source
Climate change agreements and the Climate Change Levy	Providing inaccurate baseline or reporting information	Civil penalty of the greater of £500 or £25 per tonne CO2e; removal from the scheme for persistent breaches	EWSNI	Source
Deposit return scheme for drinks containers (from October 2027)	Supplying in-scope drinks containers without registration or scheme labelling, or failing to operate a required return point	Offences and civil sanctions under the DRS regulations, enforced by the Environment Agency, Trading Standards and the devolved regulators	ENI	Source
Mandatory digital waste tracking	Failing to record a waste receipt in the service within two working days	£1,000 fixed penalty (plus 50% if paid late), variable monetary penalty, compliance notice or prosecution with an unlimited fine	E	Source
Mandatory digital waste tracking	Failing to comply with the Scottish waste tracking regulations	Fine on conviction and compliance notices (no fixed penalty)	S	Source
Environmental permits: who needs one, how to apply and what it costs	Operating a regulated facility without an environmental permit, or breaching a permit condition	Summary: unlimited fine and/or up to 12 months' prison. Indictment: unlimited fine and/or up to 5 years' prison (2 years for flood risk activity offences)	EW	Source
Environmental permits: who needs one, how to apply and what it costs	Environmental permitting offence committed on or after 1 December 2023 (civil sanction)	Variable monetary penalty imposed by the Environment Agency, with no upper limit	E	Source
Environmental permits: who needs one, how to apply and what it costs	Carrying on a regulated activity without an EASR authorisation, or breaching its conditions or general binding rules	Summary: fine up to £40,000 and/or 12 months' prison. Indictment: unlimited fine and/or up to 5 years' prison	S	Source
Environmental permits: who needs one, how to apply and what it costs	SEPA civil penalties for relevant environmental offences	Fixed monetary penalty of £300, £600 or £1,000; variable monetary penalty up to £40,000	S	Source
Environmental permits: who needs one, how to apply and what it costs	Operating a PPC installation without a permit or breaching permit conditions	Summary: fine up to £50,000 and/or 6 months' prison. Indictment: unlimited fine and/or up to 5 years' prison	NI	Source
ESOS Phase 4 (Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme)	ESOS: failing to carry out an energy audit	Up to £50,000, plus up to £500 per working day for up to 80 working days, plus publication	EWSNI	Source
ESOS Phase 4 (Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme)	ESOS: failing to notify compliance	Up to £5,000, plus up to £500 per working day for up to 80 working days, plus publication	EWSNI	Source
ESOS Phase 4 (Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme)	ESOS: failing to maintain records (evidence pack)	Up to £5,000, plus the regulator's costs of confirming compliance, plus publication	EWSNI	Source
ESOS Phase 4 (Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme)	ESOS: failing to comply with a compliance, enforcement or penalty notice	Up to £5,000, plus up to £500 per working day for up to 80 working days, plus publication	EWSNI	Source
ESOS Phase 4 (Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme)	ESOS: making a false or misleading statement	Up to £50,000, plus publication	EWSNI	Source
F-gas regulations for refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pumps	Failing to carry out leak checks, use certified personnel, recover gas or label equipment (most 2014 Regulation duties)	Civil penalty of up to £100,000 per breach	EWS	Source
F-gas regulations for refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pumps	Failing to keep or produce F-gas records, or to report	Civil penalty of up to £50,000 per breach	EWS	Source
F-gas regulations for refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pumps	Other breaches of the F-gas rules, including placing HFCs on the market without quota	Civil penalty of up to £200,000 per breach (default maximum)	EWS	Source
Hazardous waste: classification, consignment notes and returns	Breaching the Hazardous Waste Regulations (for example moving waste without a consignment note, or mixing hazardous waste)	Unlimited fine on conviction on indictment; fine up to the statutory maximum in the magistrates' court	EW	Source
Hazardous waste: classification, consignment notes and returns	Failing to produce duty of care documents, including consignment notes, on request	£300 fixed penalty notice	EW	Source
ISO 14001:2026 environmental management systems	Failing to close nonconformities raised at a certification or surveillance audit	Suspension or withdrawal of the ISO 14001 certificate by the certification body	EWSNI	Source
ISO 14001:2026 environmental management systems	Not holding certification or a carbon reduction plan required by a tender	Exclusion from the procurement or loss of evaluation marks; for government contracts over £5m a year PPN 006 makes a carbon reduction plan a condition of bidding	EWSNI	Source
Medium combustion plant and specified generator permits	Operating a medium combustion plant or specified generator without a permit, or breaching permit conditions	Unlimited fine and up to 5 years' imprisonment on conviction; variable monetary penalty with no upper limit in England	EW	Source
Medium combustion plant and specified generator permits	Carrying on a regulated activity without an EASR authorisation	Fine up to £40,000 and/or 12 months on summary conviction; unlimited fine and/or 5 years on indictment	S	Source
Minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) for let property	Letting a sub-standard (F or G) non-domestic property for 3 months or more	Up to 20% of rateable value, minimum £10,000, maximum £150,000, plus publication	EW	Source
Minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) for let property	Letting a sub-standard non-domestic property for less than 3 months	Up to 10% of rateable value, minimum £5,000, maximum £50,000	EW	Source
Minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) for let property	Letting a sub-standard domestic property	Up to £5,000 per property in total under current rules; proposed maximum £30,000 under the 2030 standard	EW	Source
Packaging EPR (extended producer responsibility for packaging)	Failing to register, report packaging data or meet recycling obligations as an obligated producer	Unlimited fine on conviction; civil sanctions including variable monetary penalties and enforcement undertakings	EWSNI	Source
Packaging EPR (extended producer responsibility for packaging)	Household packaging not assessed under RAM	Defaults to a red rating and pays 1.2× the base fee in 2026/27	EWSNI	Source
Plastic packaging tax	Failing to register, file returns or pay plastic packaging tax on time	HMRC failure-to-notify, late filing and late payment penalties plus interest; inaccuracy penalties of up to 100% of the tax for deliberate and concealed errors	EWSNI	Source
Plastic packaging tax	Fraudulent evasion of plastic packaging tax	Criminal offence; customers who knew or should have known can be made secondarily liable	EWSNI	Source
SECR reporting (Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting)	SECR: directors failing to prepare a directors' report	Criminal offence: a fine on conviction on indictment (unlimited), or up to the statutory maximum on summary conviction	EWSNI	Source
SECR reporting (Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting)	SECR: approving a directors' report that does not comply, knowingly or recklessly	Criminal offence: a fine on conviction on indictment (unlimited), or up to the statutory maximum on summary conviction	EWSNI	Source
SECR reporting (Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting)	SECR (LLPs): members failing to prepare, or approving a non-compliant, energy and carbon report	Criminal offence: a fine (unlimited in England and Wales; up to the statutory maximum on summary conviction in Scotland and Northern Ireland)	EWSNI	Source
SECR reporting (Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting)	SECR: defective directors' report	Court can order a revised report, with costs and expenses payable by the directors who approved the defective report	EWSNI	Source
Single-use plastics bans, vapes, wet wipes and carrier bag charges	Supplying a disposable vape	£200 fixed penalty for a first offence, prosecution and fines for repeat offences, seizure of stock	E	Source
Single-use plastics bans, vapes, wet wipes and carrier bag charges	Supplying a banned single-use plastic item	Civil sanctions and prosecution with a fine on conviction; stock may be seized	E	Source
Single-use plastics bans, vapes, wet wipes and carrier bag charges	Supplying a banned single-use plastic item	Fine of up to £5,000 on summary conviction	S	Source
UK Sustainability Reporting Standards and climate disclosures	Listed company failing to comply with the Listing Rules' sustainability disclosure requirements	FCA enforcement: public censure, financial penalties without statutory limit, or suspension of listing	EWSNI	Source
UK Sustainability Reporting Standards and climate disclosures	Directors approving a strategic report that does not contain the required climate-related financial disclosures	Criminal offence with a fine on conviction; court may order a revised report at the directors' expense	EWSNI	Source
UK carbon border adjustment mechanism (UK CBAM) from 2027	Failing to register for UK CBAM, file returns or keep records	HMRC regulatory penalties; late filing and late payment penalties aligned with the VAT points system; interest on late payment	EWSNI	Source
UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS)	Failing to surrender enough allowances by 30 April	£100 per tonne CO2e (March 2021 value, adjusted for inflation) plus the continuing duty to surrender; 1.5× carbon price and £1,000 daily penalties after a deficit notice	EWSNI	Source
UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS)	Operating an installation without a greenhouse gas emissions permit, or failing to monitor, report or verify	Civil penalties set by the 2020 Order and publication of non-compliance	EWSNI	Source
Waste carrier, broker and dealer registration (and the move to permits)	Transporting waste, or acting as a broker or dealer, without registration	Unlimited fine on conviction	EW	Source
Waste carrier, broker and dealer registration (and the move to permits)	Failing to produce evidence of registration when asked by an officer	£300 fixed penalty notice	EW	Source
Waste carrier, broker and dealer registration (and the move to permits)	Carrying controlled waste without registration	Fine of up to £5,000	NI	Source
Waste carrier, broker and dealer registration (and the move to permits)	Operating without a waste permit under the new England regime (from 22 July 2027)	Up to 5 years' imprisonment and an unlimited fine, according to Defra's waste crime action plan	E	Source
Waste duty of care and waste transfer notes	Failing to produce waste transfer notes or other duty of care documents when asked	£300 fixed penalty notice (minimum £180 if paid early in England)	EW	Source
Waste duty of care and waste transfer notes	Breach of the section 34 duty of care (for example waste ending up fly-tipped)	Unlimited fine on conviction in the magistrates' or Crown Court	EWSNI	Source
Waste duty of care and waste transfer notes	Householder passing waste to an unauthorised person (household duty of care)	Fixed penalty of £150 to £600 (default £200), set by the council	E	Source
Waste duty of care and waste transfer notes	Fly-tipping (unauthorised deposit of waste)	Fixed penalty of up to £5,000 since 1 September 2026, or prosecution with an unlimited fine and up to 5 years' imprisonment	E	Source
Waste exemptions: when you can operate without a permit	Operating a waste operation outside an exemption's conditions or without registration (operating without a permit)	Unlimited fine and up to 5 years' imprisonment on conviction; variable monetary penalty with no upper limit	EW	Source
Trade effluent consents, water discharge permits and abstraction licences	Discharging trade effluent to a public sewer without consent, or in breach of consent conditions	Fine on conviction (up to the statutory maximum summarily; unlimited on indictment) plus recovery of damage and costs	EW	Source
Trade effluent consents, water discharge permits and abstraction licences	Causing or permitting a water discharge or groundwater activity without an environmental permit	Unlimited fine and up to 5 years' imprisonment on conviction; variable monetary penalty with no upper limit	EW	Source
Trade effluent consents, water discharge permits and abstraction licences	Abstracting water without a licence or in breach of licence conditions	Fine on conviction under the Water Resources Act 1991	EW	Source
Trade effluent consents, water discharge permits and abstraction licences	Carrying on a water activity without an EASR authorisation	Fine up to £40,000 and/or 12 months on summary conviction; unlimited fine and/or 5 years on indictment	S	Source
WEEE regulations: producers, retailers and online marketplaces	Failing to register as a producer, join a scheme, finance WEEE collection or report tonnage	Fine up to the statutory maximum on summary conviction; unlimited fine on conviction on indictment	EWSNI	Source
WEEE regulations: producers, retailers and online marketplaces	Distributor failing to offer free take-back or to provide customer information	Fine on conviction, enforced by the Office for Product Safety and Standards and Trading Standards	EWSNI	Source
Workplace recycling rules: Simpler Recycling and the devolved regimes	Occupier failing to separate the required streams	£300 fixed penalty, or a variable monetary penalty for serious or repeated breaches	W	Source
Workplace recycling rules: Simpler Recycling and the devolved regimes	Collector or handler failing to keep streams separate	£500 fixed penalty, or a variable monetary penalty	W	Source
Workplace recycling rules: Simpler Recycling and the devolved regimes	Disposing of food waste to the sewer	£300 fixed penalty	W	Source
Workplace recycling rules: Simpler Recycling and the devolved regimes	Failing to comply with an Environment Agency compliance notice on workplace recycling	Fine on conviction (no fixed penalty)	E	Source
Workplace recycling rules: Simpler Recycling and the devolved regimes	Failing to present recyclables or food waste separately	Fine of up to £10,000 on summary conviction; unlimited on indictment	S	Source