Garden Centres Warned Of Looming Business Rates Headache

The government plans a three-year revaluation cycle of business rates from next April. While welcoming the plans Andrew Burton of Malcom Scotts fears potential appeals will fall by the wayside and the additional administration needed  will prove to arduous for garden centres and farm shops, resulting in them facing financial penalties.

Andrew Burton explained: “The Government is committed to more frequent revaluations from next year, but we are concerned that the onus is set to fall on the ratepayer as opposed to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA).

“Effectively, the plan is to move to a ‘self assessment’ model, which will see businesses submit annual statements for every property they use, providing information on size, rents, leases, landlord arrangements and trading details, regardless of whether such details have changed since the previous update.

“What is more, those businesses with multiple properties will have to break down this information for every building; a time-consuming undertaking that is going to create a huge amount of red tape and stress for those tasked with overseeing the collation of information.”

According to Andrew Burton a key point of concern is that businesses which currently do not pay business rates will also be obligated to submit this information - something which they may not realise they’re required to do, and which will almost certainly prove a pointless exercise with their circumstances remaining unchanged.

He added: “The new model could have a detrimental impact on garden centres and retailers, both in terms of appeals failing to be processed due to the tighter timescales between revaluations, and financial penalties being imposed for incomplete or incorrect information being returned within the specified deadlines.”

April 2023 will see the new model implemented on a ‘soft launch’ basis, meaning that businesses have three years to find their feet in complying with the new requirements without fearing fines and penalties before the 2026 Rating List begins.

“With many businesses focused on day-to-day operations and supply chains, and with so many grey areas surrounding the new requirements, our concerns revolve around the additional bureaucracy they will have to address,” Burton concluded.

Source : Reproduced with permission from George Bullivant, Gardenforum

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