Small Business Rate Relief Scheme

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Should you have any queries concerning the Small Business Rate Relief Scheme or require further information, please contact:

Non-Domestic Rates
Tel: 01276 707136
revenues@surreyheath.gov.uk

Surrey Heath Borough Council
Surrey Heath House
Knoll Road
Camberley
Surrey GU15 3HD

Outline of the Scheme
With effect from 1 April 2005 a new form of Business Rate relief was introduced to help small businesses. Those ratepayers who are eligible under the provisions of the scheme have their Business Rate bill calculated using the lower small business non-domestic rate multiplier rather than the ordinary non-domestic rating multiplier that is used to calculate the liability of other businesses. In addition, if the Rateable Value of the property is under £10,000 the ratepayer is entitled to a percentage of relief from their Business Rate bill. A maximum of 50% relief can be awarded in respect of property with a Rateable Value of up to £4,999. For property with a Rateable Value of between £5,000 and £9,999, relief will be available on a sliding scale of 0.01% for every £1 Rateable Value below the upper threshold of £10,000 the Rateable Value of your property happens to be. For example, for a property with a Rateable Value of £7,000 the relief entitlement will be 30% of the rates bill. For a property with a Rateable Value of £9,500, relief of 5% will be given.

Eligibility under the Scheme
Relief is available to ratepayers who apply to the Council and who occupy either -
a) one property on the Rating Lists in England, or
b) one main property in England and other additional properties in England providing that 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 properties mentioned in b), must be under £15,000 outside London or under £21,500 within London, including on 1 April of the rating year and on every chargeable day for which eligibility is being claimed.

Calculation of the Rates Bill
Relief applies to one property only. The charge on any additional relevant properties (those with a Rateable Value of below £2,200) will not be subject to a reduction under the scheme. The reduction in liability will apply for each day that the property remains eligible. Relief will no longer be given as soon as the ratepayer fails to meet the above criteria.

Registration
Ratepayers must apply to the Council for relief and application forms are available for this purpose. From 1 April 2007, 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 properties, which happens every five years. The Council will write to you when your existing application is due for renewal. Applications may be accepted up to six months before the start of the rating year concerned and up to six months after the valuation period has ended. If the Rateable Value is altered so that it falls within the above thresholds, an application may be accepted up to six months after the date of the notification of the alteration.

Applications in respect of the 2006/2007 financial year should be submitted to the Council by no later than 30 September 2007.

Further information concerning the scheme and the calculation of the rates bill may be found by visiting the website www.mybusinessrates.gov.uk Opens in a new window.

Changes of Circumstances
When relief has been granted, certain changes in circumstances will need to be notified to the Council by the ratepayer (other changes will be picked up automatically by the Council). 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 situated in an area other than the area of the Council which granted the relief.
Notification of these changes must be given to the Council within four weeks of the day after the day the change occurred. If this happens, there will be no interruption to the ratepayer's entitlement to the relief. However, failure to notify the Council within this timeframe will mean the ratepayer ceases to be entitled to the relief with effect from the day that the change happened. If they are still eligible, the ratepayer will be entitled to the relief again with effect from the day that they notify the Council. 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.