73.—(1) The Minister may, after consultation with F295[such other Minister of the Government, if any, as the Minister considers appropriate], make regulations providing that there shall be chargeable, leviable and payable a levy (which shall be known as a "landfill levy" and is in this section referred to as the "levy") in respect of—

(a) the carrying on of a specified class or classes of waste disposal activity (being an activity referred to in F296[paragraph D1 or D5 of the Third Schedule]), or

(b) the disposal by means of a waste disposal activity referred to in F297[paragraph D1 or D5 of the Third Schedule], or a specified class or classes of such activity, of a specified class or classes of waste, or

(c) subject to subsection (2), both the carrying on of an activity referred to in paragraph (a) and an activity referred to in paragraph (b).

(2) Regulations under subsection (1)(c) shall not result in levy being payable twice in respect of a particular disposal of a particular quantity of waste.

F298[(3) The amount of the levy shall be specified in the regulations under subsection (1) but shall not exceed an amount of €120 for each tonne of waste disposed of.

(3A) The Minister may, subject to subsections (3) and (3B), amend the amount of the levy standing specified in regulations under subsection (1) for the purposes of promoting—

(a) the prevention of the generation of waste, and

(b) the reduction of the quantity of waste disposed of by means of an activity referred to in subsection (1),

once and once only in each financial year beginning with the financial year in which the Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011 is passed.

(3B) The Minister shall, when amending the amount of levy standing specified in regulations under subsection (1), substitute an amount that does not exceed the amount so standing specified by €50.]

(4) Subject to subsection (3), regulations under subsection (1) may specify, as respects the amount of the levy payable under them, different such amounts by reference to different activities referred to in any of paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of subsection (1) in respect of which the levy is so payable.

(5) The levy shall be payable by the person who carries on the waste disposal activity concerned.

F299[(5A) Where any amount of levy becomes payable in accordance with regulations made under this section and is not paid, simple interest on the amount shall be paid by the person liable to pay the levy and such interest shall be calculated from the date on which the levy became payable and at a rate of 0.0322 per cent for each day or part of a day during which the amount remains unpaid.

(5B) Interest due in accordance with subsection (5A) shall be payable to the Environment Fund in the manner specified in the regulations under subsection (1) and the provisions of those regulations relating to the recovery of the levy shall apply to the interest as if it were levy.

(5C) Interest paid in accordance with subsection (5A) shall be treated as levy for the purposes of—

(a) subsection (8), in relation to provision under that subsection for levy by virtue of F300[paragraph (n) of section 12 (3) of the Act of 2022], and

F300[(b) section 8 (7) of the Act of 2022.]]

(6) Regulations under subsection (1) shall—

(a) provide that the levy (not being levy chargeable by virtue of those regulations on the local authority) shall be payable to the local authority in whose functional area the waste disposal activity concerned is carried on, and

(b) confer on that local authority powers with respect to the collection and recovery of the levy (and, for this purpose, the regulations may adapt, with or without modifications, the provisions of any enactment relating to the estimation, collection and recovery of, or the inspection of records or the furnishing of information in relation to, any tax charged or imposed by that enactment).

(7) (a) Regulations under subsection (1) may, for the purpose mentioned in paragraph (b), restrict the extent to which a local authority may exercise a power to make a charge for the provision by it of any service in circumstances where, in the opinion of the Minister, such exercise is so as to enable the local authority to recoup amounts paid by it by way of levy.

(b) The purpose mentioned in paragraph (a) is ensuring that the exercise of the power referred to in that paragraph does not result in one or more categories of person paying a disproportionate amount of the total amount of charges a local authority could reasonably be expected to make in respect of the provision of services in the circumstances concerned.

(c) For so long as regulations under subsection (1) restrict the exercise of the power referred to in paragraph (a), the enactment that confers that power shall be construed as if there were contained in it a provision the effect of which is to restrict the exercise of the power in the manner provided by the said regulations.

(8) Regulations under subsection (1) may provide, in relation to levy under this section, for all the matters F300[which regulations under section 11 (1) of the Act of 2022 may, by virtue of paragraphs (a), (c), (d) and (i) to (n) of section 12 (3) of that Act,] provide in relation to levy under that section and those paragraphs shall, accordingly, apply for the purposes of this section with any necessary modifications (including such modifications as will enable like provision with respect to the payment into the Environment Fund of amounts received by a local authority on account of levy under this section to be made with respect to levy under this section chargeable on the local authority itself).

(9) F301[…]

(10) A person who fails to—

(a) pay levy which is due and payable by virtue of regulations under subsection (1), or

(b) comply with a provision of regulations under that subsection,

shall be guilty of an offence.]