When does the Carrier Bag Levy not apply?
Your business should be aware of the main exemptions from the Carrier Bag Levy in Northern Ireland.
Not all transactions require carrier bags to be charged under the Carrier Bag Levy. It is important to understand the differences so that your business only collects the levy where needed.
Specific exemptions from the levy
A full list of bags that are exempt from the levy can be found in Schedule 1 of The Single Use Carrier Bags Charge Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013 and should be read in conjunction with the 2022 legislation The Single Use Carrier Bags Charge (Amendment and Revocation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022 as these amend the exemptions:
- bags used to contain take-away hot food and hot drinks
- bags of a certain size used solely to contain packaged uncooked meat or fish
- sealed transit bags used at airports
- bags made of any material with maximum dimensions of 125mm (width) x 155mm (height), with a gusset of less than 50mm and no handle
- specialist bags such as mail order dispatch and courier bags
- unpackaged food
- seeds and bulbs
- axes / knives / razor blades
- goods contaminated by soil
- some medicinal products
- bags with a retail price above £5
The levy also doesn't apply when a carrier bag manufacturer or wholesaler sells carrier bags to a shop.
If you are not sure whether your business activity means you need to charge for carrier bags, contact the Carrier Bag Levy Team on Tel 028 7744 2056 or email carrierbaglevy@daera-ni.gov.uk.