The Government has put out to consultation proposals to speed up the business rates appeal system by deterring speculative applications. The idea is to reduce the back-log by preventing unnecessary appeals that are clogging up the system presently.
Marcus Andrews FRICS of Goadsby Surveyors says “many of the 850,000 appeals against 2010 rating list have been speculative and have come from so called ‘cowboy’ agents”. He added “indeed Businesses needing advice and assistance about their rating should instruct from Members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors or the Rating & Valuation Association; particularly firms who are active in the area where the property is located”.
The Government say 70% of the appeals dealt with so far have not resulted in any change to the ratable value of a property. Indeed some businesses are unaware an appeal has been done by the ‘cowboy agents’.
It is intended to have a 3 stage process so ratepayers can more easily check and challenge their ratable values:
· Relevant facts must be agreed between the parties at the ‘check stage’ so that clear errors can be corrected
· Next one can move to the ‘challenge stage’ by putting forward a case with evidence for a reduction – this should see most being “agreed”
· Finally, if still not resolved, one can move to a formal ‘appeal stage’, with recourse to an independent tribunal.
It is intended to introduce a fee, likely to be between £100 and £300 for the 3rd stage; refundable if successful
In addition there are plans to introduce a ‘penalty’ for providing false information of up to £500. It could be several months before the new system comes in, and perhaps not until the next Valuation List comes in to force in April 2017.
Marcus Andrews says that “tinkering with the appeal process is only part of the problem. It has some advantages, but what about abolishing the unfair 100% empty property rates, or recruiting more staff to clear the back log? Many staff at the Valuation Office are now being diverted from the 2010 List appeals to work on the 2017 revaluation” he says.
