Tax conditionality extended to Scotland and Northern Ireland

HMRC’s ‘L-day’ policy paper 'New tax checks for licence renewal applications in Scotland and Northern Ireland' proposes that the existing tax checks for taxi and scrap metal licence renewal which apply in England and Wales will be extended to Scotland and Northern Ireland.

England and Wales introduced Tax Checks as part of the process for renewing certain licenses from 4 April 2022.

It is proposed that these provisions are extended to include license renewals for:

• Drivers of taxis in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
• Drivers of private hire cars in Scotland.
• Operators of a booking office in Scotland.
• Metal dealers who operate on a site or on an itinerant basis in Scotland.

Draft legislation has been published and these measures should apply to licence applications in Scotland and Northern Ireland from 1 April 2023.

Useful guides on this topic

Conditionality: taxi, private hire vehicles and scrap licenses
The renewal of certain licences, to drive taxis and private hire vehicles or deal in scrap metal, will be conditional on applicants confirming that they are appropriately registered for tax.

External links

Extending tax checks to licences in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Extending tax checks to licences in Scotland and Northern Ireland – draft legislation