Contacting us:
Revenues Section,
Mid Suffolk District Council,
131 High Street,
Needham Market,
Ipswich,
Suffolk
IP6 8DL
Telephone: 01449 727362/363
Fax: 01449 721946
Email: nndr@midsuffolk.gov.uk
- Business Rates must be paid in accordance
with the instalments notified on the demand notice to avoid
recovery action.
- When one instalment is missed a Reminder
Notice will be issued.
- If the Reminder is paid within the time
period specified and future instalments are kept up to date, no
further action will be taken.
- Please note that paying within the month
will not always avoid recovery, it is important to make payment on
the date shown on the demand notice.
- If the Reminder Notice is paid, but a
subsequent instalment is defaulted upon, a Final Notice can be
issued.
- The Final Notice requests the full
outstanding balance to be paid within 7 days (it is not enough
just to bring the instalments up to date) .
- If this is not paid in full within 7 days
a Summons is issued for which £25.00 costs are incurred.
- At the Magistrates Court we will apply for
a Liability Order for which £35.00 costs are incurred.
- The Liability Order gives us the power to
send a bailiff to seize your goods. The bailiff can then auction
the goods to pay the bill, and the bailiffs fees. You will be
charged for the visit by the bailiff even if you are not in when
the bailiff calls.
The non-domestic rates collected are paid into a central pool
and redistributed to billing authorities and major precepting
authorities. Your authorities share of redistributed rate income
together with income from its Council Tax payers, revenue support
grant provided by the Government and certain sums, is used to pay
for the services provided by your authority and other local
authorities in your area.
If you own a property which is not being used, and is empty, you
pay no rates for three months from when the property became
unoccupied. After that, 50% of the normal rates bill is payable. In
the case of properties with a rateable value of less than £2200,
listed buildings, factories and warehouses, and some types of
property where occupation is restricted by law, no rates are
payable at all whilst the property is empty.
Empty Relief
- Commercial property with a rateable value
of less than £2200 - Exempt from paying Empty rates
- Commercial property with a rateable value
of greater than £2200 - Exempt for first 3 months from date of
vacation. 50% of full rates thereafter
- Industrial property with any rateable
value - Exempt from paying Empty Rates
Commercial Property - Shops, Offices, Public Houses,
Restaurants
Industrial Property - Workshops, Warehouses, Stores
etc
Please let us know if your property has or will become empty by
contacting the Business Rates section .
The Valuation Officer may alter the value if he believes that
the circumstances of the property have changed. The ratepayer (and
certain others who have an interest in the property) may also in
certain circumstances propose a change in value. If in any case the
ratepayer and the Valuation Officer do not agree, the matter will
be referred as an appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.
Leaflet on how to appeal against your rating assessment (PDF,
25Kb)
Leaflet on how your property is valued for rating (PDF,
21Kb)
You may contact the Valuation Office at this address:
The Valuation Office Agency
6th Floor, St Clare House
Princes Street, Ipswich
Suffolk
IP1 1LR
Tel 01473 587800
Fax 01473 587899
www.voa.gov.uk
Please note that if you have appealed against your rateable
value, payment is still due as detailed on your Rates Demand Notice
and cannot be withheld pending the outcome of your appeal.
Rates are usually payable by the occupier of non-domestic
property. This will normally be either the owner-occupier or the
leaseholder of the property. But if the property is empty, the
owner or leaseholder pays at a reduced rate. The responsibility for
the payment of business rates cannot be contractually avoided. So
even if you are a tenant and your contract with your landlord
involves an inclusive tenancy where the landlord pays the rates, in
the event of default it is the occupier from whom the billing
authority will seek to recover their revenue. Therefore, the
occupier will be faced with the demand even if they have paid money
in lieu of rates to the landlord.
Contact the Business Rates Section who will be able to provide
you with the approximate amount payable on any business property in
Mid Suffolk provided that it is already entered in the Rating List
(see top of page for contact details). For new or
proposed properties you can contact the Valuation Office direct
(see above for contact details).
Click here for a registration form
You may also notify us using the contact details at the top
of the page.
Please contact us using the details at the top of the
page.
Hardship Relief is a rate relief which may be offered at the
discretion of the Authority to ratepayers who are suffering
hardship. The Authority has to be satisfied that the ratepayer
would suffer real hardship if the relief was not given and
that it is the wider interests of the community generally (ie. the
Council Tax payers of the Authority) for the relief to made
available. Each application for relief is looked at individually.
Contact the Business Rates Section to find out more
Section 44(a) relief is a temporary relief which may be awarded
to business ratepayers who are only using part of their premises
and the remaining unoccupied area is completely unused. Contact the
Business Rates section to find out more.
Fact sheet on Working From Home
Basic Guide to the rating of Guest Houses and
B&B Accommodation
Basic Guide to the valuation of Holiday
Cottages
Mid Suffolk District Council's Business Support
Page contains information on how
your business can obtain funding.