Constituency Casework Page Overview: Navigating Business Rate Appeals
Understanding Rateable Values
Business rate bills encompass the property’s rateable value, determined by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and distinct from the actual amount to be paid by the ratepayer. You can identify any property’s rateable value by inputting its postcode into the VOA’s database, which also elucidates the calculation method and provides rateable values for comparable properties.
Business rates bills detail the standard amount payable, applicable reliefs, and discounts. For example, properties with a rateable value of £12,000 or below, which qualify for 100% small business rate relief, will incur a zero bill. Payments are typically made in monthly installments, akin to council tax.
Valuation Nuances
Valuing non-domestic properties, which range from sports stadia to advertising hoardings, involves complexity. The VOA’s Rating Manual outlines guidance utilized by valuers for assigning rateable values across varied property types, with valuers also adhering to case law. Consequently, confirming a valuation’s accuracy isn’t straightforward and depends on specific case facts. The VOA’s database may indicate when a valuation scheme, which groups similar properties in related areas to maintain consistent rateable values, is utilized.
Appeal Process: Check, Challenge, Appeal
In England, appealing against a property’s rateable value involves a three-stage “Check, Challenge, Appeal” process:
– Check: Verify the facts underpinning the VOA’s valuation.
– Challenge: If disputed, present a challenge to the VOA, inclusive of the legal basis and an alternative rateable value with substantiation.
– Appeal: Should the VOA’s challenge response be unsatisfactory, an appeal can be lodged with the Valuation Tribunal for England, which operates within the court system and thus considers case law in its decisions. While legal representation isn’t mandatory for submitting a VOA challenge or Valuation Tribunal appeal, ratepayers might opt to engage a rating valuation expert. Fees to proceed to the Valuation Tribunal are £150 for small businesses and £300 for larger entities.
Pending appeal resolution, the existing business rates bill remains payable. A reduction resulting from the appeal may yield a refund from the VOA or the Valuation Tribunal.
For appeals against the business rates bill itself rather than the rateable value, ratepayers should liaise with their respective (district or unitary) council. If council discussions prove futile, the matter can progress to the Valuation Tribunal for England.
Backdating Provisions
Should an appeal succeed, yielding lower rates, ratepayers might obtain a refund for overpaid business rates. The Tribunal can decide an ‘effective date’ from the past, dictating the circumstances justifying the valuation alteration, which may backdate a refund. However, despite an appeal’s success, backdated refunds are not guaranteed and hinge on case specifics.
Periodic Revaluations
Rateable values undergo periodic revaluations, with the next across the UK set for 1 April 2023. Given that the preceding revaluation for England, Scotland, and Wales took effect on 1 April 2017, rateable values can experience significant shifts based on altered economic conditions. Thus, following revaluation, some properties might incur considerably escalated business rates.
In England, historical transitional relief schemes have capped business rates and bill increases post-revaluation. Legally mandated to implement a transitional relief scheme, the Government may, in the interim, alleviate elevated business rates burdens for some enterprises.
With future plans to revalue properties triennially (2023, 2026, etc.), the Government anticipates reducing the likelihood of notably extensive alterations in future business rates bills.
Source: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/business-rates-appeals-england/
