Scottish Government Announces Postponement of 2022 Rating Revaluation
02 September 2020
A revaluation of business rates in Scotland will no longer take place in 2022 ostensibly to ‘give sufficient time for market conditions to fully adjust to any post-Covid effects’ and to ‘reduce any shocks and provide stability and certainty on rates bills in the recovery period.’
Revaluation 1 April 2023
The Scottish Government announced in the Programme for Government 2020-21 published on 1 September that the next non-domestic rates revaluation in Scotland will be delayed by one year. It is now scheduled to take effect on 1 April 2023, the same year as in England and Wales.
However, unlike England and Wales, the next revaluation in Scotland will be based on rental values as at 1 April 2022, and not 1 April 2020 as was previously scheduled, nor 1 April 2021 as will now be the case in England and Wales.
The next revaluation after 1 April 2023 will be statutorily scheduled for 1 April 2026 (with a tone date of 1 April 2025). The one-year tone date will be introduced in an Order which is scheduled to be laid in Parliament on 15 September and to come into force on 29 September 2020.
Lorna Greig, Business Rates Associate at Ryden, comments:
“Yesterday’s announcement is disastrous news for ratepayers in general, especially for those in sectors whose rental values have fallen significantly since the last revaluation and who were anticipating rateable value reductions had the 2022 revaluation taken place as planned.
"The retail, hospitality and leisure sectors throughout Scotland will be particularly hard hit as will all sectors in Aberdeen & North East Scotland where they are not only dealing with the crippling effects of the coronavirus pandemic but also the effects on the economy of a consistently low oil price.
"These ratepayers now have to continue paying rates based on evidence from early 2015, right at the top of the market, and before the November 2014 oil price crash had affected property transactions. The recent amendments curtailing material change of circumstances appeals will only compound the situation."
Please contact Ryden’s Rating team to discuss any queries, concerns or appeals.
