Non-Domestic Rates (Business Rates)
Explanatory Notes 2009/2010
Non-Domestic Rates
Non-Domestic Rates, or Business Rates, collected by local
authorities are the way that those who occupy non-domestic property
contribute towards the cost of local services. Except in the City
of London where special arrangements apply, the rates are pooled by
central government and redistributed to local authorities as part
of the annual formula grant settlement. The money, together with
revenue from council tax payers, revenue support grant provided by
the Government and certain other sums, is used to pay for the
services provided by your local authority and other local
authorities in your area.
Rateable Value
Apart from properties that are exempt from Business Rates, each
non-domestic property has a rateable value which is set by the
valuation officers of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), an agency
of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. It draws up and maintains a
full list of all rateable values, available on their website at
www.voa.gov.uk. The rateable
value of your property is shown on the front of this bill. This
broadly represents the yearly rent the property could have been let
for on the open market on a particular date. For the revaluation
that came into effect on 1st April 2005, this date was set as 1st
April 2003.
The valuation officer may alter the value if circumstances
change. The ratepayer (and certain others who have an interest in
the property) can also appeal against the value shown in the list
if they believe it is wrong. Further information about the grounds
on which appeals may be made and the process for doing so can be
found on the VOA website or from your local valuation office.
National Non-Domestic Rating Multiplier
The local authority works out the Business Rates bill by
multiplying the rateable value of the property by the appropriate
multiplier. There are two multipliers; the standard non-domestic
rating multiplier and the small business non-domestic rating
multiplier. The former is higher to pay for small business rate
relief. The Government sets the multipliers for each financial year
for the whole of England, except in the City of London where
special arrangements apply, according to formulae set by
legislation. The multipliers change each year in line with
inflation and to take account of the cost of small business rate
relief. In the year of a revaluation, the multipliers are set at a
level which will keep the total amount raised in rates after the
revaluation the same as before, plus inflation for that year. The
current multipliers are shown on the front of this bill.
Transitional Arrangements
Property values normally change a good deal between each
revaluation. Transitional arrangements help to phase in the effects
of these changes by limiting increases in bills. To help pay for
the limits on increases in bills, there also have to be limits on
reductions in bills. Under the transition scheme, limits continue
to apply to yearly increases and decreases until the full amount is
due (rateable value times the appropriate multiplier).
The scheme applies only to the bill based on a property at the
time of the revaluation. If there are any changes to the property
after 1st April 2005, transitional arrangements will not normally
apply to the part of a bill that relates to any increase in
rateable value due to those changes. Any transitional adjustments
are shown on the front of this bill.
Further information about transitional arrangements and other
reliefs may be obtained from Dover District Council or the website
www.mybusinessrates.gov.uk.
Unoccupied Property Rating
Business Rates will not be payable in the first three months
that a property is empty. This is extended to six months in the
case of certain industrial properties. After this period, rates are
payable in full unless the unoccupied property rate has been
reduced by the Government by order. In most cases, the unoccupied
property rate is zero for properties owned by charities and
Community Amateur Sports Clubs. In addition, there are a number of
exemptions from the empty property rate. Full details on exemptions
can be obtained from the local authority. If the unoccupied
property rate for the financial year has been reduced by order, it
will be shown on the front of this bill.
Partly Occupied Property Relief
A ratepayer is liable for the full non-domestic rate whether a
property is wholly occupied or only partly occupied. Where a
property is partly occupied for a short time, the local authority
has discretion in certain cases to award relief in respect of the
unoccupied part. Full details can be obtained from the local
authority.
Small Business Rate Relief
This relief is only available to ratepayers who apply to their
local authority and who occupy either (a) one property, or (b) one
main property and other additional properties providing those
additional properties each have a rateable value of less than
£2,200.
The rateable value of the property mentioned in (a), or the
aggregate rateable value of all the properties mentioned in (b),
must be under £15,000 outside London or £21,500 in London on every
day for which relief is being sought. If the rateable value, or
aggregate rateable value, increases above those levels, relief will
cease from the day of the increase.
Ratepayers who satisfy these conditions will have the bill for
their single or main property calculated using the lower small
business non-domestic rating multiplier rather than the ordinary
non-domestic rating multiplier that is used to calculate the
liability of other businesses.
In addition, if the single or main property is shown on the
rating list with a rateable value of up to £10,000, the ratepayer
will receive a percentage reduction in their rates bill for this
property of up to a maximum of 50% for a property with a rateable
value of not more than £5,000.
If an application for relief is granted, provided the
ratepayer’s circumstances do not change, the application will not
need to be renewed until the next revaluation of non-domestic
premises, which happens every five years. Certain changes in
circumstances will need to be notified to the local authority by
the ratepayer (other changes will be picked up by the local
authority). The changes which must be notified are (a) the
ratepayer taking up occupation of a property they did not occupy at
the time of making their application for relief, and (b) an
increase in the rateable value of a property occupied by the
ratepayer in an area other than the area of the local authority
which granted the relief.
Notification of these changes must be given to the local
authority within 4 weeks of the day after the day the change
happened. If this happens, there will be no interruption to the
ratepayer’s entitlement to the relief. A notification that the
ratepayer has taken up occupation of an additional property must be
by way of a fresh application for relief; notice of an increase in
rateable value must be given in writing. Full details on the
eligibility criteria and on how to apply for this relief are
available from the local authority.
Charity and Registered Community Amateur Sports Club Relief -
Charities and Registered Community Amateur Sports Clubs are
entitled to 80% relief where the property is occupied by the
Charity or Club and is wholly or mainly used for charitable
purposes or as a Registered Community Amateur Sports Club.
The local authority has discretion to give further relief on the
remaining bill. Full details can be obtained from the local
authority.
Non-Profit Making Organisation Relief - The local authority has
discretion to give relief to Non-Profit Making Organisations. Full
details can be obtained from the local authority.
Hardship Relief
The local authority has discretion to give relief in special
circumstances. Full details can be obtained from the local
authority.
Schedule of Payments for Certain Backdated Liability
Ratepayers who face certain backdated rates liability may be
able to discharge that liability over up to 8 years by agreement
with their billing authority. This may be possible if the backdated
liability has arisen as a result of an alteration to a ratings list
which:
- means a hereditament is shown on that list for the first
time;
- has effect from a day that is at least 33 months prior to the
date the alteration is made;
- is made on or before 31st March 2010; and
- is not the result of a proposal by an interested person made
under the Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals)
(England) Regulations 2005.
To be eligible, ratepayers must have occupied one or more
properties affected by the type of rating list adjustment above,
within the billing authority area, between the effective date of
the list alteration and the date it was actually made, for 33
months or more. Ratepayers are not eligible if they were previously
liable for rates in respect of a property “preceding” the new
property assessment (i.e. a property that forms a part of a new
merged property or a part of a property that has been split into
two or more new properties).
With the agreement of their billing authority, eligible
ratepayers will be able to discharge any outstanding liability that
accrued between the effective date of the relevant list alteration
and the date the alteration was made over a
period of up to 8 years. Further details on the criteria and the
process to obtain a schedule of payments are available from your
local authority.
Rating advisers
Ratepayers do not have to be represented in discussions about
their rateable value or their rates bill. Appeals against rateable
values can be made free of charge. However, ratepayers who do wish
to be represented should be aware that members of the Royal
Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS—website www.rics.org) and the Institute of
Revenues Rating and Valuation (IRRV—website www.irrv.org.uk) are qualified and
are regulated by rules of professional conduct designed to protect
the public from misconduct. Before you employ a rating adviser, you
should check that they have the necessary knowledge and expertise,
as well as appropriate indemnity insurance. Take great care and, if
necessary, seek further advice before entering into any
contract.
Rate relief for businesses in rural areas - Certain types of
properties in a rural settlement with a population below 3,000 may
be entitled to relief. The property must be the only general store,
the only post office or a food shop and have a rateable value of
less than £7,000, or the only public house or the only petrol
station and have a rateable value of less than £10,500. The
property has to be occupied. An eligible ratepayer is entitled to
relief at 50% of the full charge whilst the local authority also
has discretion to give further relief on the remaining bill. In
addition, the local authority can give relief on certain other
occupied property in a rural settlement where the rateable value is
less than £14,000. Full details can be obtained from the
local authority
For further information about any of the above please call the
Non-Domestic Rates section on (01304) 872199, or see the back of
your bill for further contact information.
Contact
Telephone: 01304 872195
E-mail: nndr@dover.gov.uk
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