Business Rates collection policy
The bill shows the net amount due after deduction of any exemption or reliefs to which you may be entitled.
We will amend the non-domestic rating records where a change in liability occurs and send you a revised bill.
You can pay each bill by monthly instalments and we will allow at least 14 days before the first instalment is due.
From April 2014 you can opt to pay your bill over twelve instalments rather than ten. To arrange this please contact us as soon as you have received your annual bill.
If you disagree with the bill we have issued to you then please contact us to discuss.
If your grievance is about a valuation matter you will have to pay the instalments as and when they are due. If we amend the rateable value of a property, then we will refund any overpayment.
If you have difficulty in paying
If you think you will have difficulty in paying your instalments, please contact us to discuss your account.
If you do not pay your instalments when they are due, we will send you a reminder notice to let you know the amount of arrears. If you bring your payments up to date within 7 days, we will allow you to continue paying by instalments. If your instalments are not brought up to date, the full balance on your account will become payable and we can take court action to enforce payment of the debt.
If you have brought your payments up to date but later miss an instalment we will send you a final notice. If payment in full is not received within seven days, we can take court action to enforce payment of the debt.
You can contact us to discuss an arrangement for payment even when the full balance has become payable on your account. You must do so as soon as possible after we have issued the reminder or final notice to avoid court action.
Taking court action
We will take court action to enforce payment of the debt if you either do not make an arrangement for payment or fail to keep to an arrangement made.
Costs will become payable. The costs for the issue of a summons are currently £56.00.
If you pay the amount including costs shown on the summons in full before the court hearing, we will take no further action.
If you are unable to pay the full amount immediately, you should contact us to make an arrangement for payment. This is on the understanding that the application for a liability order and extra costs will proceed. In these cases, we will not take any enforcement action on the liability order provided the arrangement is maintained.
The costs for the issue of a liability order are currently £26.00.
The Liability Order
If a Liability Order is granted, we can immediately take action to enforce payment of the outstanding amount. Even at this late stage, unless instructions to take enforcement action have been issued, you will still have the opportunity to make an arrangement for payment.
If you do not make an arrangement for payment, or fail to keep to an arrangement made, we will take action to enforce payment of the debt without further notice.
