At the Autumn Budget 2018, the Chancellor announced that eligible retailers will receive a one third discount (after other mandatory and discretionary reliefs have been applied) on their Business Rates bills for two years from April 2019.
For a property to benefit from the Retail Discount the following general criteria must be satisfied:
- The property must be occupied,
- The rateable value (RV) must be less than £51,000,
- The property must be wholly or mainly used as a shop, restaurant, cafe or drinking establishment,
- The property must be reasonably accessible to visiting members of the public.
The full qualifying criteria are set out shown in Derby City Council’s, “National Non-Domestic Rates Policy for the award of Discretionary Rate Relief.” This will be available to view on the Council’s website shortly.
Those businesses that satisfy the Council’s criteria will automatically be awarded Retail Discount and this will be shown on your 2019/20 annual Business Rates bill that you will receive this month. Therefore it is important that you check your Business Rates bill when you receive it to see if you have been awarded Retail Discount.
What if I haven’t been awarded retail discount and I think I should?
If you think you should be receiving retail discount but it is not shown on your Business Rates bills you will need to complete and return an application form. This is be available shortly on the Council’s website (in the Business Rates section)
What if I have been awarded retail discount and want to refuse it or think I shouldn’t be receiving it?
If you don’t think you should receive retail discount or wish to refuse it then you must email business.rates@derby.gov.uk detailing why. Please include your Business Rates account reference number and the address of the hereditament receiving retail discount in your email.
Any retail discount that you may receive does not impact upon the BID levy that your business pays. For further information on how your BID levy is calculated, please refer to the Cathedral Quarter BID Business Plan which is available to view online here.
If you have any questions regarding the Business Rate Relief changes being introduced from the 1st April 2019 please speak to Derby City Council Business Rates on 01332 642428 who can advise you whether your business qualifies.
