BUSINESSES MUST ACT NOW

The Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC) are urging businesses in the region not to miss the deadline of September 30th to register an appeal against their notified rateable values.

Bob Collier, The Chief Executive of AGCC explained; “ Business rates are revised every 5 years by the assessors, and there are a number of good reasons why organizations should appeal against their notified rateable values if they are facing increases. Firstly, occasionally the assessor’s office gets things wrong, and you can appeal to correct the error. Secondly you can appeal against a ‘material change in circumstances’. This means that, because the date at which the rateable values were calculated is 2008, you can appeal if your business has seen significant change since then and now in 2010. If in doubt – appeal. Businesses should also appeal if their rates have risen sharply, or they have lost former rate reliefs.”

“Any interested party is entitled to appeal against a Rateable Value for a property in which they have a heritable interest. Don’t be put off by the jargon. At a year of Revaluation, it is the duty of the Assessor to demonstrate that his valuation figure is correct. You have a right to appeal and be heard. The important thing at present is to make sure that an appeal is lodged against the Revaluation figure by the end of September.

“Any reputable Chartered Surveyor will, at no cost, talk through the process with a prospective appellant - they might become clients. The Chamber is circulating to all of its members, the contact details for members of the chamber who offer professional appeal services.

Finally, we would remind organisations that the real name of this tax is ‘non-domestic rates’ so it’s not just business that is affected – the public sector and third sector have also been hit by increased charges and they should not miss the appeal date just because they are not a business, or are part of a big or complex organisation.”

The information on how to appeal is on the Grampian Joint Valuation Board website at www.grampian-vjb.gov.uk

Click here to download the Non-Domestic (Business)Rates Revaluation 2010 Appeal Procedure

Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce members offering support for Rates appeals

Knight Frank

Eric Shearer MRICS
Partner
Knight Frank LLP
3 Rubislaw Terrace
Aberdeen
AB10 1XE
United Kingdom