The Air Passenger Duty (Connected Flights) Order 1994

Made: 8th July 1994

Laid before the House of Commons: 11th July 1994

Coming into force: 1st November 1994

The Treasury, in exercise of the powers conferred upon them by sections 30 and 42 of the Finance Act 1994[^f00001] and all other powers enabling them in that behalf, hereby make the following Order:

Citation and commencement

1

This Order may be cited as the Air Passenger Duty (Connected Flights) Order 1994 and shall come into force on 1st November 1994.

Interpretation

2

The provisions of the Schedule to this Order, including the Notes next mentioned, shall be interpreted and applied in accordance with the notes contained therein.

Rules for determining whether successive flights are connected

3

The provisions of the Schedule to this Order shall be used, in respect of the transfer of a passenger as described therein, for determining whether successive flights are treated as connected for the purpose of section 30(6), or section 31(3), of the Finance Act 1994.

SCHEDULE — Rules for determining whether successive flights in question are connected flights for the purposes of Air Passenger Duty

Case A Rule, governing a transfer to a domestic flight

1

The following rule (the “Case A Rule”) applies in the case of a passenger who transfers to an aircraft on which he is carried domestically.

CASE A RULE

The passenger’s previous flight (“Flight A”), and the next flight after it on his journey (“Flight B”) on which he is carried domestically, are connected if the booked time of departure of Flight B is by or at the time or within the period in column 3 of the following Table specified opposite to the period of time (specified in column 2 of that Table) into which the scheduled time of arrival of Flight A falls on the scheduled day of arrival.

Notes of interpretation for the Case A Rule and for these Notes

Case B Rule, governing a transfer to an international flight

2

The following rule (the “Case B Rule”) applies in the case of a passenger who transfers to an aircraft on which he is carried internationally.

CASE B RULE

The passenger’s previous flight (“Flight A”), and the next flight after it on his journey (“Flight B”) on which he is carried internationally, are connected if the booked time of departure of Flight B falls within the period of 24 hours starting at the scheduled time of arrival of Flight A.

Notes of interpretation for the Case B Rule and these Notes

Signed

Tim Wood — Timothy Kirkhope — Two of the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury — 8th July 1994

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order determines when two flights shall be treated as connected for the purposes of exemption from air passenger duty or for establishing which of two rates should apply.

As regards the exemption, section 31(3) of the Finance Act 1994 c. 9 provides, in general, that the second of two flights of a passenger shall not attract the duty that would otherwise be chargeable, if those two flights are connected by virtue of the provisions of this Order.

With regard to the rates, section 30 imposes two rates: a lower rate for a journey ending at a place within the EC, and a higher rate for a journey ending outside the EC. A passenger’s journey ends for these purposes at the final place of destination. In the case of a journey involving two or more flights by the passenger, section 30(6) provides that the final place of destination in question is the airport or place of arrival of the flight which is not followed by a connected flight.

This Order provides two rules (A and B) for determining whether or not successive flights in question are to be treated as connected for the above mentioned purposes, each rule being respectively applicable to two situations or cases.

The Case A Rule is used in the case of a passenger transferring to a domestic flight as defined in the Order; and, in general terms, the second flight is connected to the first flight where the transfer by the passenger to the second flight is effected by a particular time or within a period specified in the Table for this Rule. For example the second flight is connected if it is effected by or at 10 am of the day following the scheduled day of arrival of the first flight, when the scheduled time of arrival of the first flight falls in the period after 5pm to midnight on the scheduled day of its arrival. Another example: the second flight is connected if it is effected by or at 10 am of the scheduled day of arrival of the first flight, when the scheduled time of arrival of the first flight falls in the period after midnight to 4.00 am of the scheduled day of its arrival.

The Case B Rule, governing a transfer to an international flight, employs a 24 hour period which starts at the scheduled time of arrival of the first of the two flights in question. The two flights in question are connected if the transfer is effected within that 24 hour period.

In each of the two cases respectively the two flights in question are not connected if the passenger’s destination, following the transfer, is the airport or country from whence he came on the first flight in question.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1994 c. 9; section 42(1) provides that “order” means an order made by the Treasury.

[^f00002]: The Commissioners are the Commissioners of Customs & Excise by virtue of section 43(4) of the Finance Act 1994, which applies the definition of “the Commissioners” in section 1(1) of the Customs and Excise Management Act (c.2).