‘Tortuous system’ designed to reduce appeals

Check, Challenge, Appeal portal 'impenetrable and unstable'

28 June 2017

Share this

Businesses, leading rating practitioners and the Rating Surveyors Association (RSA) are mounting a vociferous campaign against the Valuation Office Agency’s (VOA) Check, Challenge, Appeal (CCA) portal, a new system introduced in England for businesses to contest their business rates assessments. They collectively contest that the new system is failing businesses and the VOA website portal through which challenges have to be made is not fit for purpose. It is being condemned as ‘hugely inefficient’ and judged ‘impenetrable and unstable’.

The UK Government introduced CCA in England on 1st April 2017 despite widespread business objection to many of its features. The Welsh Government has yet to confirm whether it proposes any changes in Wales.

Historically, businesses were able to appoint professional rating surveyors to represent their interests, but cannot now do so without having to first ‘claim’ each property separately using procedures that are extremely time consuming. Businesses complain that the VOA portal is frequently unavailable, and registration or claiming of properties is often rejected without explanation.

Andrew West, Director of Rating at Cooke & Arkwright, whose team represents clients in Wales and England says, “Our IT systems have had electronic communication with the VOA since 2005, but this has not yet been achieved satisfactorily for the 2017 revaluation in England. The new regime imposes the burden of proof on businesses, yet the VOA, which sets the rateable values using data and evidence it has collected, will not share that data with businesses. This sets businesses – and professional advisors acting on their behalf - an unduly onerous task that seems to serve no other purpose than to delay the process and potentially deny a fair outcome. At a time when businesses need reassurance, transparency, fairness and freedom from unnecessary red tape in the run-up to Brexit, this seems to be doing the exact opposite. A much simpler, sensible and admired system currently exists in Wales, and the same procedure should be adopted immediately in England.”

Businesses are being urged to take immediate action by sending one of two letters (depending on whether they are multi-site occupiers or SMEs) to their MPs, with copies to ministers. Meanwhile, the cross-bench peer John Lytton has tabled a Motion of Regret in Parliament. He told the House of Lords that the Check, Challenge, Appeal platform involved ‘the most tortuous’ registration and had been designed to ‘prevent appeals’.

Please click here to download the letters : Multi-site occupier or SME

You may be interested in

I have worked with Jeremy Symons over the past three years successfully leasing and buying property in support of my business. I continue to be very pleased with his knowledge of the market and expertise. Our relationship over this time has resulted in acquiring 20,000 sq ft at Capital Business Park in Cardiff, leasing 11,000 sq ft at Southpoint, and subsequently leasing an initial 42,000 sq ft at Parc Bedwas, followed by a succession of expansions of a further 11,000 and then 47,000 sq ft, enabling us to centralise all of our operations at Parc Bedwas in a single 100,000 sq ft facility. The acquisitions were completed at the perfect time for tenant purposes and the rent fixed throughout the term at very economical rates. A job well done.

Bob James, Aerfin