Business Rates appeals changes announced in Enterprise Bill

As widely flagged by the Interim Findings of the Business Rates Administration Review discussion paper published on 10 October 2014, the Government has announced major changes to the Business Rates appeals system as part of the forthcoming Enterprise Bill.
The measures in the Enterprise Bill will broaden the existing enabling powers to ensure that comprehensive, effective and transparent reforms can be put in place. The changes to the the measures in the Enterprise Bill broaden the existing enabling powers to ensure that comprehensive, effective and transparent reforms can be put in place. The changes to the enabling powers will allow secondary legislation to be made covering:

•  a new Check stage;
•  civil penalties of up to £500 for the provision of false information, and appeals against those penalties; and
•  certain matters relating to appeals (including grounds for appeal, matters which may not be taken into account in the appeal, the admission of new evidence, and the payment and refund of fees).

The third point is the major alteration and raises the spectre of -

1. A possible narrowing of the ability to appeal on certain grounds.
2. Certain areas of evidence becoming excluded from consideration.
3. Possible introduction of charging ratepayers to make a Rating appeal.

As ever, the devil will be in the detail, but it would seem to us that there is a third and unstated aim for the changes – to reduce the number of appeals, and the mention of fees suggests that this may well be by hook or by crook!