Air Passenger Duty - introduction

What is Air Passenger Duty (APD)?

APD is an excise duty which is charged on the carriage, from a UK airport, of chargeable passengers on chargeable aircraft.

Until 31 October 2009 there were four rates of duty.

Standard rates:

• £20 for specified European destinations
• £80 for all other destinations

Reduced rates:

• £10 for specified European destinations
• £40 for all other destinations

From 1 November 2009 a four destination band structure based on geographical distance from London applies, each having two rates of duty depending upon the class of travel, so there are eight different rates of duty

Bands are mostly based on the distance between London and the capital city of the destination country/territory.

Standard rates:

Band A (0 - 2,000 miles) £22

Band B (2,001 - 4,000 miles) £90

Band C (4,001 - 6,000 miles) £100

Band D (over 6,000 miles) £110

Reduced rates:

Band A (0 - 2,000 miles) £11

Band B (2,001 - 4,000 miles) £45

Band C (4,001 - 6,000 miles) £50

Band D (over 6,000 miles) £55

Notice 550 Air Passenger Duty explains what chargeable passengers and aircraft are and contains a list of countries/territories and the bands into which they fall.

Do I need to register for APD?

If you operate chargeable aircraft which are used for the carriage of chargeable passengers from UK airports you must register for APD.

How to register

You need to complete Registration Form APD1 which is available online or from our Helpline on Tel 0845 010 9000.

Once you have completed the APD1 please send it to the APD Central Collection Unit at the following address:

HM Revenue & Customs
APD Central Collection Unit
Alexander House
21 Victoria Avenue
Southend-on-Sea
SS99 1AA.

Tel: 01702 366 558 or 01702 366 364
Fax: 01702 366 562

When to register

The latest you can register is within seven days of a chargeable flight taking place, that is, when you carry a chargeable passenger on a chargeable aircraft. If you fail to do this you may have to pay a penalty. You may register before your chargeable flights begin.

Your registration will become effective from the first day of the month in which you make a chargeable flight.

How to account for the duty

Once you have registered we will send you a return, usually every month, for you to complete and send back with payment for any duty due.

Records to keep

You must be able to demonstrate from the records you keep that the amount declared on the APD return is a true and fair account of your APD liability.

As well as your normal business records you need to keep:

• an APD account
• other specific records (as detailed in Notice 550 Air Passenger Duty)

You may also need to keep additional records if you are allowed to work out your duty using a special scheme.

You will find full details of the records you need to keep in Notice 550 and Notice 551 Special accounting schemes for Air Passenger Duty (APD).

Further help and information

We have produced Notices that cover various aspects of the duty:

• Notice 550 Air Passenger Duty
• Notice 551 Special accounting schemes for Air Passenger Duty (APD)

You can access these and other notices from the Library area. If you are in any doubt or would like further help you can ring the Helpline on Tel 0845 010 9000.

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