Air Passenger Duty was introduced in the Finance Act 1994 and
came into effect on 1 November 1994. It is a duty of excise levied
on the carriage, from a UK airport, of chargeable passengers on
chargeable aircraft.
Airlines are required to register on Form APD1 within 7 days
of a chargeable flight taking place. Failure to register, or to
provide subsequent returns and payments where due, attract
financial penalties.
From 1 February 2007, there are four rates of Air Passenger
Duty:
Standard rates of £20 for destinations in the EEA and
£80 for other destinations and reduced rates of £10 for
destinations within the EEA and £40 for other destinations
where the passenger is carried in the lowest class of travel on any
flight.
A number of exemptions are provided for subject to
maintenance of a full audit trail including for non passengers
(crew etc), visiting forces, infants, transit and connecting
passengers, pleasure flights and, since 1.4.01, flights from the
Scottish Highlands and Islands.
Liability is determined by examination of ticket counterfoils
or by means of special accounting schemes based on historical or
sample data.
In the year 2007/2008 Air Passenger Duty amounted to approximately £2,000,000,000 (£2bn).
