New duties for ratepayers to supply information
The advent of COVID and the existing system of Business Rates showed the Government that the occupier and valuation data is incredibly important to implementing business orientated policies on the ground, there was literally no substitute. As the various grants rained down on retail and small business ratepayers, there were a significant amount of cases where the recipients were less than legitimate. Government now requires corporate entities to face stricter reporting on Companies House, and now it is the turn for the business rates ecosystem to face similar changes.
Section 13 of the new Non-Domestic Rating Act 2023 has already received Royal Assent and is about to come into force this April 2026.
The main change is now the new duty to provide information to the HMRC about who you, the ratepayer, are. National Insurance, VAT numbers and (Unique) Taxpayer Reference Numbers will now be married to the ratepayer records at HMRC and Billing Authority levels. Companies and individuals over-claiming Small Business Rates Relief, be aware!
1) Ratepayers must inform the VOA within 60 days when they become or are no longer the ratepayer via your HMRC/Portal
2) The Act imposes new duties on ratepayers to provide declarations regarding physical changes to their property under their duty to notify. Any such changes that are considered “significant to the property” must be notified to HMRC of any changes within 60 days.
The term significant needs some explanation; the change could be in respect of the annual rent payable due to a lease renewal or a rent review. Similarly, the changes could be due to a demolition, addition, extension, physical alteration or improvement of your property.
3) In addition to this, there will be an annual declaration requirement whereby all rate payers that must file within 60 days of the 30th of April a confirmation statement that the details of their rating assessment are accurate and there have been no alterations in the previous period.
4) Prospective ratepayers who are deemed to be a “ratepayer in respect of the hereditament if the hereditament were shown in a list compiled”, must also notify the HMRC/VOA of their existence. This section is aiming to flush out phantom properties that exist but have never been included in the Rating List. (Yes, they are out there).
Without going into the sanctions and fines imposed by the Act, the general tenor of this change is to almost make Business Rates a matter of self-assessment similar to your tax return, similar to PAYE and corporation tax returns.
Actions you should take: -
A) Make sure you have registered for a VOA portal and have recorded the properties that you are the ratepayer for.
B) Keep a note of all significant changes to your properties, such as the addition of air-conditioning, extensions, the addition of solar panels, splits and mergers of different properties
C) Create a table showing your rent review dates and the rents agreed – this will save you time in the future
D) If this looks too difficult or time consuming then please appoint a Chartered Surveyor to advise on your overall changes and duties to inform in respect of your portfolio well in advance.