Guidance

Register a group of companies for Plastic Packaging Tax

Find out how to register a group of companies for Plastic Packaging Tax.

Who can register as a group

If you’re part of a group of companies, you can appoint a UK established representative member to register for Plastic Packaging Tax, submit returns and make payments on the group’s behalf.

To register in this way, the group must include at least one company established in the UK, and each company in the group must:

You cannot register online from the start of the tax as part of a group if you are:

  • an overseas business without a UK establishment
  • a charity

You can still register individually.

How to appoint and act as a group representative member

All the members of the group will need to appoint a UK established representative member of the group. The appointed representative member must:

  • be a member of the group of companies
  • be resident in the UK
  • have a permanent establishment in the UK
  • not be a member of another group of companies

Once appointed, they must do the following on behalf of the whole group:

  • register for Plastic Packaging Tax
  • submit returns
  • pay the tax
  • make updates and change any of the registration details

All members are joint and severally liable for each other’s obligations for Plastic Packaging Tax.

This means that responsibility of payment is not solely given to the chosen representative member. All companies in the group are responsible for making sure payments are made on time, regardless of which companies have tax liability.

How to register a group

If you’ve been appointed as the group’s representative, you should use the online registration service to register your group.

For each company you are registering, you must provide one of the following:

  • a customer identification number — for UK established businesses this could be a:
    • customer reference number
    • Corporation Tax unique tax reference
  • the type of organisation
  • the contact name, address, phone number and email address — this will need to be different for each company registered

You must confirm that:

  • all group members are under the same control
  • all group members agree to appointing you as the representative member
  • you’re eligible to be the representative member
  • all other members are eligible to be members of the group for group registration purposes

The group registration will take effect from the day that the application is made.

If anyone in your group is already registered as an individual

If anyone in the group (including you) is already registered for Plastic Packaging Tax, they must deregister before the group registration is established. If you deregister, you will:

  • need to give the reason for deregistering (you plan to join a group registration)
  • immediately lose access to you’re online account
  • need to complete and send back a return, covering the period before the group registration takes effect (even if no tax is payable for this period)

How to make changes to a group

Once the group registration application has been approved, the representative member will use the online service to:

  • add and remove members from the group
  • change the representative member
  • close the group
  • make updates and change any of the registration details

When making changes, remember that:

  • the criteria for being part of a group must be fulfilled by all members
  • a company leaving a group, or all the companies in a group being closed, may need to register immediately in its own right if it meets one of the tests for registration
  • a company being added to the group must first deregister if it is already registered in its own right

How to complete returns and payments

If you’ve been appointed as the group’s representative member, at the end of each accounting period, you should submit a single return and payment on behalf of all members of the group.

The figures included on the return should be the total for all the members of the group, for each item. You should make sure each member keeps records to support the figures you use.

Find out how to complete your return.

Published 4 November 2021
Last updated 4 March 2022 + show all updates
  1. If you're an overseas business without a UK establishment, you cannot register online from the start of the tax as part of a group or charity. When registering a group, you should not use a Charity Registration Number as the information you give for a company in the group.

  2. Added translation

  3. Guidance has been updated to include the 10 tonnes threshold that each company must meet.

  4. First published.