With the latest round of property valuations for business rates purposes underway, businesses are being urged to take care filling in the forms if they want to avoid incurring unnecessary costs.
The Valuations Office Agency (VOA) began issuing questionnaires –Forms of Return – to businesses across England and Wales earlier this year. The information supplied will be used to determine the rateable values of commercial properties at the nominal date of 1 April 2015, forming the basis of the business rates charged from April 2017.
Businesses have a total of 56 days to complete and return the questionnaires to the VOA or risk facing a fine of £100. Furthermore, if inaccurate information is provided the business may well end up paying the wrong amount of business rates in 2017, so commercial property agent Prop-Search advises that care is taken to ensure the information provided is correct.
Chris Billson (pictured), a Director at the firm – which has offices in Wellingborough, Northampton and Milton Keynes – said: “Controversially, the Rating Revaluation was a postponement of a revaluation which should have been implemented in 2015, with the Coalition’s rationale being to avoid sharp changes in rates bills.
“There have been mixed views relating to the postponement, with some parts of the country eagerly awaiting a revaluation and others parts – particularly London – nervous about the prospect of sharp increases.
“The Chancellor’s Summer Budget revealed that revenue from business rates is expected to increase from £28 billion in this financial year to £32.9 billion by 2020/21 – due to annual inflation linked increases as well as the 2017 Rating Revaluation.”
The revaluation is a means of establishing a nominal open market rental value for business premises, and business rates are charged on all non-domestic properties where an exemption does not apply – as of September 2013, this amounted to some 1.8 million properties in England alone.
Exemptions currently in place include farm buildings and land, places of public religious worship such as listed buildings and church halls, and buildings used for the training or welfare of disabled people.
Mr Billson continues; “You don’t usually have to pay business rates for home-based businesses if you use a small part of your home for your business; such as a bedroom as an office or sell goods by post.
“However, you may need to pay business rates as well as council tax if your property is part business and part domestic – for example you live above your shop; sell goods or services to people who visit your property or you employ other people to work at your property.”
