Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the European Commission decision regarding exemption from the aggregates levy.

The European Commission concluded a State aid investigation into various Aggregates Levy exemptions on 23 March 2015. The Commission had originally approved all the levy exemptions in 2002, but were required to carry out a State aid investigation as a result of legal challenge. The Commission’s decision found all the levy exemptions lawful except for part of the exemption for shale aggregate.

The Chancellor announced in his Summer Budget that all of the lawful exemptions would be reinstated from 1 August 2015.

The Commission have ordered recovery of State aid provided by the exemption for some types of shale aggregate. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have recently written to potentially affected businesses. The government will continue to work with the industry to minimise the impact of recovery on affected businesses, and any businesses that are concerned should contact HMRC as soon as possible.