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If you sell goods in Northern Ireland, you must charge customers a levy for each carrier bag supplied new at a place where goods are sold. This levy applies to all carrier bags with a retail price of £5 or less. You should familiarise yourself with the Carrier Bag Levy rules on when to charge your customers, and how much you can charge.

Read further information on the . You can also contact the Carrier Bag Levy Team on Tel 028 7744 2056 or by emailing carrierbaglevy@daera-ni.gov.uk. 

The levy applies to carrier bags when:

• you buy goods like groceries or clothing
• goods need to be delivered, for example, items bought online which are sent from premises in Northern Ireland and delivered in carrier bags

Types of businesses affected

You are likely to need to charge the levy if:

• you run a store or shop (both high street and local)
• you are a market trader or trade at events/shows across Northern Ireland
• you run a charity shop

How much to charge for carrier bags?

You must charge at least 25p (the levy). You can charge more than the levy for each bag, in which case VAT will apply. Where a retailer charges more than £5 for a bag, the levy is not applicable.

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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  and should be read in conjunction with the 2022 legislation  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. 

Retailers operating in Northern Ireland must collect a levy from all carrier bags sold. The money collected from the levy must be paid to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).

To pay the levy to DAERA, you should login to using either Government Gateway (recommended) or nidirect. If you are not already registered for the Carrier Bag Levy, you will be able to self-register.

If you operate as part of a chain or a larger business group, you should confirm with your head office (or accounts section) whether your store is part of a single company-wide return.

Registered businesses are able to manage levy returns online.

You will be in breach of legislation if you fail to register and/or fail to pay the levy to DAERA.

You need to keep and retain the following details for your records:

• the number of carrier bags attracting the requirement to charge which were supplied to customers
• the gross proceeds received for carrier bags which attract the requirement to charge
• the amount received by way of the levy charge
• any amount of chargeable VAT relating to the levy charge
• the net proceeds of the charge

You may be fined or have corrective actions imposed on your business if you don't:

• charge the levy
• pay the proceeds of the charge to DAERA
• keep, retain or supply records

You must make quarterly online returns to DAERA and complete the following information:

• declare the number of carrier bags you have given out for which you only charged levy
• declare the number of carrier bags you have given out for which you charged both the levy and your own retail price
• make the associated payment to DAERA within 28 days of the end of the quarter

You can contact the DAERA Carrier Bag Levy Team for further advice on Tel 028 7744 2056 or email carrierbaglevy@daera-ni.gov.uk.

Retail businesses will usually calculate VAT automatically as part of a sales transaction. It is important to note the specific rules for VAT when charging for carrier bags under the Carrier Bag Levy.

If you only charge the levy, then the full levy charge per bag should be paid to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), as VAT is not applicable. The Carrier Bag Levy system will show these as ‘lower rate bags’.

However, if you add your own charge on top of the levy, the full amount would be considered inclusive of VAT. The Carrier Bag Levy system will show these as ‘upper rate bags’ and VAT will be deducted at declaration stage. 

If you only charge the levy, then the full amount per bag should be paid to DAERA as VAT does not apply.

If you add your own charge for a bag on top of the levy, the full amount then becomes vatable. Therefore, if you charge anything in addition to the levy the payment to DAERA will be made with the VAT removed ie 20.8333p payable from 1 April 2022 and 4.1666p is payable in respect of any period prior to 1 April 2022.

When you submit your quarterly return, the system will automatically calculate the amount to be paid to DAERA. VAT proceeds should be paid to HMRC in the normal way.

For more information on paying VAT to HMRC electronically, see VAT returns.

You can also contact the Carrier Bag Levy Team on Tel 028 7744 2056 or email carrierbaglevy@daera-ni.gov.uk.