The Government has announced that it will provide relief from Business Rates following the 2023 Revaluation and where a Ratepayer is facing an increase in their Business Rates liability. 

The relief is available for three years from 2023/24 through to 2025/26.  The Council is required to have its own Local Discretionary Rates Relief scheme in place.  This is in addition to the Council’s Mandatory scheme as directed and agreed by the local Member's in accordance with statutory provisions.

All applications for Discretionary Rate Relief must be received by the 31st July in the year following the one to which the relief is sought i.e. if relief is sought for 2023/24, the application must be received no later than 31st July 2024.  The Council is statute barred from consider any applications for periods before 1st April 2022 and will reject the same. 

Qualifying Conditions

The qualifying conditions for East Staffordshire Borough Council’s Local Discretionary Rates Relief scheme are as follows:

• Ratepayers must have been in occupation at 31st March 2023 and also in occupation on 1st April 2023 and for each subsequent day
• The Ratepayer’s account is not subject to Empty Property Rates
• There has been an increase in net Business Rates payable from 2017/18 to 2023/24 arising as a direct result of the 2023 Revaluation
• Local Authority hereditaments are not allowed to apply for Discretionary Rates Relief
• Relief will be targeted in favour of local businesses and not those considered to be national or multi-national in nature.  For the purpose of this scheme, local businesses are those which have premises wholly in the East Staffordshire area
• Any relief applied does not result in you exceeding State Aid limits (see below) and that you comply with EU law on State Aid

Amount of Relief

Relief will be restricted to the increase in Business Rates payable for 2023/24 when compared with 2022/23, not the overall amount due for 2022/23.  Relief for each of the three years commencing 2023/24 will be calculated by formula as follows:

Ratepayer will not qualify for Local Discretionary Rate Relief if any the condition below are satisfied.

• The property is empty
• The Ratepayer was not in occupation on 31 March 2023 and 1 April 2023
• Where the property is wholly or mainly used for
  • Betting or gambling
  • The sale of alcohol for consumption off the premises
  • The sale of cigarettes or tobacco, which includes e-cigarettes, vaporisers etc
  • Pay day loans, pawnbrokers, cheque encashment or the provision of short term or pay day loans
• The Ratepayer has applied for relief under the provisions s44a of the Local Government Finance Act 1988
• The property has had an increase in rateable value after 1 April 2023 that increases the rate charge above the 1 April 2023 value

Any relief applied will be subject to State Aid rules.

State Aid Rules

The rules concerning EU State Aid require that your business does not receive more than €200,000 of State Aid in a three year period.  Further information concerning State Aid can be obtained via the following links

• https://www.gov.uk/guidance/state-aid  and
• http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2013:352:0001:0008:EN:PDF

In order to satisfy the Rating Authority that you comply with State Aid law, you will be required to declare to the Council if you have received or are receiving any other De Minimis State Aid in the last three years.  This will include any Supporting Pub Relief and Supporting Small Business Relief you are being granted in respect of any other premises that you occupy.  You must declare that the award of all reliefs does not exceed the €200,000 that a Ratepayer can receive under the De Minimis Regulations EC 1407/2013.

If a declaration to this effect is not received, Supporting Pub Relief or Supporting Small Business Relief will not be granted.