According to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), the number of appeals against business rates has plummeted because businesses are struggling to navigate the new ‘check challenge appeal’ (CCA) system.
In its latest study, the VOA found that there were 65,380 checks lodged between 1 April 2017 and 31 December 2018 compared to 330,000 appeals in the same period after the 2010 list. This reflects less than four per cent of the 1.88 million properties assessed for business rates in the UK.
According to the VOA, only 220,000 properties have been approved by the Agency to begin the check system, which suggests that 160,000 are potentially still sitting in the system, not able to get through to the check stage.
Under the CCA system, came into force on 1 April 2017, ratepayers are responsible for checking the information held by the VOA on their qualifying property. However, critics claim that the system is overcomplicated, and the lack of guidance on the unnavigable system is discouraging to those with good cases from challenging their bills.
Any business with concerns over their rate bills should get their disputes in now to ensure they don’t miss the deadline for the 2017 list.
