APD charges on Business jets

[bla bla]

Air passenger duty payable from 1 April 2013 on Biz jets over 5.7 ton.

[mutt]

At what rate? And what process is in place for it to happen?

Mutt

[bla bla]

Please google it, I don't understand why UK is SO much more expensive then
the rest of Europe?

[flynowpaylater]

I don't understand why UK is SO much more expensive then
the rest of Europe?


Because we don't charge Mineral Oil Tax, infrastructure tax, luxury travel tax, or, oh, you're british so we'll tax you something else as well, tax.:)

[His dudeness]

And what process is in place for it to happen?

surely they will come up with something more complicated than the austrians...for foreigners.


When Darling says he is as English as Queen Victoria, Blackadder replies 'So your father's German, you're half German and you married a German.'

So we germans should qualify for the less complicated solution! :)

[JP27]

see link Fair tax on flying - ABTA (http://www.abta.com/news-and-views/policy-zone/more/air-passenger-duty) for rates and charges.

Can anyone confirm please, am I right in thinking APD is paid on departure from the UK only and not inbound? thanks!

[navstar1]

Full detailed on the UK HMRC web site Notice 550 all 52 pages of regulations!:(

[His dudeness]

HM Revenue & Customs (http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageLibrary_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000505&propertyType=document#P416_32846)


How to report:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/forms/2009/apd2-notes.pdf

Reporting form:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/forms/2009/apd2.pdf


Good thing (for me):

"Small aircraft

Where an aircraft is certificated as having an authorised take off weight of less than ten tonnes or fewer than twenty seats for the passengers, then it is exempt from the duty."

[cambioso]

2.3 What is a chargeable aircraft?
All aircraft (including helicopters) which are designed or adapted to carry persons in addition to the flight crew are chargeable, with the exception of the following:

Type of aircraft


Description


Small aircraft


Where an aircraft is certificated as having an authorised take off weight of less than ten tonnes or fewer than twenty seats for the passengers, then it is exempt from the duty.


Private aircraft


If you operate private aircraft these flights are not normally liable to duty unless the passengers pay for their carriage. Most private aircraft are, in any event, exempt because they satisfy the definition of 'small aircraft'. If however, you operate private aircraft (including helicopters) which do not fall within the definition of small aircraft and you charge passengers for their carriage, you must register and account for APD.


Yes Dude, what is all the fuss on this thread about? I guess these exemptions apply to most (if not all) of us "non AOC" people eh?

[cldrvr]

You guys keep flaffing about the wrong sources/quotes.

The OP was very clear in his question, so in effect is the HMRC:



The 2011 Autumn Fiscal Event confirmed the decision to extend APD to business jets and other smaller aircraft. These changes will take effect from 1 April 2013, and this guidance will be updated to reflect implementation in due course.


The rates and procedures for aircraft over 5.7t haven't been published yet, so lets get back to the subject on hand once they have.

[CelticRambler]

The rates and procedures for aircraft over 5.7t haven't been published yet, so lets get back to the subject on hand once they have.

They have been published for all aircraft over 5.7t and the supplement for aircraft over 20t with less than 19 seats (perhaps the type of "business jet" that the OP has in mind) - HM Revenue & Customs: Rates of Air Passenger Duty (http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/rates/apd.htm).

@JP27 yes, you are correct - but a departing passenger is not subject to APD if connecting in the UK.

[cldrvr]

From HM Treasury themselves:


The Government will introduce a special scheme, which allows business
aviation operators who elect into the scheme to estimate their average passenger numbers for the purposes of APD. This will minimise administration and compliance burdens. The Government will discuss the design of the scheme with industry


As I posted earlier, no scheme has yet been published so I will await the details in due course.

There has also been no clear direction as to seat pitch in Business jets and no ruling yet on which APD would apply to each and every type of jet and interior setup.

So APD for us is not as cut and dry just yet. We can all probably make a rough estimate as to what charges apply to us, but until the final details are published, including the compliance protocol with the "estimation" scheme I will abstain from making wild guesses that can not be verified by published sources....

If anyone here has received any official communication regarding the estimation scheme and the seat pitch issue, I would like to hear from you.

[His dudeness]

From the horses mouth (APD Helpdesk):

UK Ministers announced in 2011 that APD would be extended from its current form to include smaller aircraft from 01 April 2013. It was to include both private and corporate aircraft.

The Notice 550 on our website is not yet the one that will apply from 01 April 2013, when the UK air passenger duty (APD) is extended to include aircraft of a certified weight above 5.7MT.

Fukc...

[His dudeness]

I have asked a few questions...


Now as you can see we have 4 seats with a very short distance from each other and 4 with a bigger one, that at least is very close to the 40 inches. How do I measure seat pitch in such a case? Is it half the distance between the seats facing each other? Or the whole distance plus the distance between the seats not facing each other dived by 2 ? I would like to get a credible answer soon. And I do know that this does not only affect a few business jets, but most.

2) We – as many others – do use a computer program to plan and report our flights to the various authorities requiring that info. If we report in a form made by us containing the same info than yours, would that be okay?

3) Why do we have to pay this anyhow? We are a private company…. Not an air operator!!!

4) is there a better definition available for "east or west of the Urals" for the Russian Federation ?



These are the answers so far:


1) The 40 inches can be measured by half the distance between facing seats. Measured from seat back to seat back.
2) The actual form (APD2) does need to be completed and signed and sent to our processing office, along with any duty due, although the payment may be sent electronically to our bank. All these details will be available when you register, or via our website. The new version of the form will be available with the new Notice 550 in a few days. In the meantime I attach a briefing that may assist in some of your decisions.
3) UK Ministers announced in 2011 that APD would be extended from its current form to include smaller aircraft from 01 April 2013. It was to include both private and corporate aircraft.
4) I will have to take a little time to look back at the definition for the Russian Federation split at the Urals, but wanted to get the other information out to you as quickly as possible.

[CelticRambler]

His Dudeness, why the fixation with seat pitch? To the best of my knowledge and reading of the paperwork, APD does not specifically target business jets. It is concerned only with the MTOW and number of seats available. Most "business jets" will be under 20t so it doesn't matter how many seats they've got, and I suspect just about all BBJs and the like have more than 19 seats if you count every available sitting space.

IMO, extending the APD net to include aircraft under 10t supposedly to plug an apparent exemption for corporate aircraft does nothing but penalise operators trying to make scheduled regional services work. As of 1 April, B1900, J32 & L410 operators have to hit their passengers with the charge. :ugh:

[cldrvr]

APD does not specifically target business jets.


It will as of April 1st.

I emailed them quite a while ago that our seats slide and swivel and have infinite seat pitches, down from next to nothing to yards, also some of our seats have fixed tables and desks, how do we account for pitch on those. I never did get an answer from them, they are probably still mulling that one over.

[His dudeness]

why the fixation with seat pitch?

ahhh... didn´t I had a disease... sorry to anyone who feels offended by my disorder.

[CelticRambler]

No need to apologise. Thanks to the APD helpdesk, I now understand and have the same affliction. :\

Although mine is compounded by the question "when is a seat not a seat?" (or rather the inverse if one is to avoid paying the "higher" charge on a 21t cargo-combi with 16 seats) and prompting me to ask myself if it would be easier to keep the UK off our network until APD is done away with ...

In any case, APD Helpdesk confirms that the rates and procedures have indeed been published - even if the full details are not readily available on the HMRC website.


7.The Rates
Air Passenger Duty Rates [1]
Bands | Reduced rate [2] | Standard rates [3] | Higher rate [4]

From 01 April 2011 2012 2013 | 2011 2012 2013 | 2013
Band A (0 – 2000 miles)
£12 £13 £13 | £24 £26 £26 | £52
Band B (2001 – 4000 miles)
£60 £65 £67 | £120 £130 £134 | £268
Band C (4001 – 6000 miles)
£75 £81 £83 | £150 £162 £166 | £332
Band D (over 6000 miles)
£85 £92 £94 | £170 £184 £188 | £376
[1] From 1 January 2013 the rates for direct long-haul flights to Bands B, C and D from NI were devolved, and set at £0. Direct long haul journeys fromNI are those journeys that start in NI and where the first part of the journey is to a destination outside Band A, ie the first stop is in Band B, C or D. For all other journeys from NI, the above rates apply.
[2] In addition, if a class of travel provides a seat pitch in excess of 1.016 metres (40 inches) the standard rate is the minimum rate that applies, even if it is the lowest or only class of travel.
[3] The standard rate applies to travel in any class other than the lowest or where the seat pitch exceeds 1.016 metres (40 inches), unless the higher rate conditions are met.
[4] The higher rate applies to all chargeable passengers on flights aboard aircraft of 20 tonnes and above with fewer than 19 seats
...

9.What is 'class of travel' and how is it applied?
9.1.There are three classes of travel for APD purposes:


Where more than one class of travel is available on the flight, the lowest class attracts the reduced rate, while all other classes attract the standard rate (unless the higher rate conditions are met).



Where there is only one class of travel available, then provided that both the seat pitch on that class of travel is 40 inches or less, and the higher rate conditions are not met, the reduced rate applies. If there is only one class of travel available and the seat pitch is in excess of 40 inches, then the standard rate applies, unless the higher rate conditions are met



Where an aircraft with an authorised take off weight of 20 tonnes or more and configured to seat 19 or fewer people is used, then irrespective of the number of classes of travel or the seat pitch, the higherrate applies to all passengers.


9.2.It is likely that for APD purposes, most business jets will offer only one class of travel.