Part 8F: Central List

The Valuation Office Agency's (VOA) technical manual for the rating of business (non-domestic) property.

1.0 Introduction

Part 3 of the Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (England) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/2268) as amended sets out the provisions that apply to hereditaments that are entered in the Central List for the 2017 Rating List and beyond

All references are to the above regulation unless otherwise specified.

Essentially references to the ‘VO’ are substituted with ‘CVO’ (Central Valuation Officer) and ‘local list’ is substituted with the ‘central list’

The central list deals with ‘relevant’ hereditaments as defined in s53 of the Local Government and Finance Act 1988. The amended regulations substitute s53 for s42 where mentioned in the Appeal regulations.

Various other parts of the Appeal Regulations do not apply or have been amended for the Central List as discussed where appropriate below.

This guidance should be read in conjunction with the main guidance in Part 4 for dealing with cases under CCA.

2.0 Definitions

Interested person (IP)

The requirements of an IP are the same for the Central List as they are for the local lists. In order to be able to make a proposal, the Proposer (Designated Person) must have an interest in the property or have had an interest in it.

If the Proposer has left the property by the time the request for information at check is made then the grounds on which he may make a proposal are restricted to changes in P and M Regs, alterations of the list and changes in Effective Date only. He may not make a proposal against the compiled list, MCC or any other grounds.

Ratepayer (RP)

The ‘ratepayer’ is either the occupier or if vacant, the owner of the hereditament.

Anyone who has been a ratepayer since the Confirmation of Check, is entitled to be a party to an appeal. Relevant Authority For the purpose of the Central List, the Secretary of State is substituted for the ‘Relevant Authority’ where stated.

‘Alteration of the list’

For the purposes of the Central List, ‘alteration’ means the alteration of the Central List in relation to a description of hereditaments.

3.0 Grounds of Proposal

The grounds of proposal are identical for those applying to the Local List under Reg 4(1) with the exception that (k) and (l) are removed for the purposes of the Central List.

Reg 4(1)

(a) Compiled list inaccuracy (b) RV is inaccurate due to an MCC (excludes ones citing Covid 19 on or after 24/3/2021). (c) Amendment of P and M regs (d) CVO alteration of the list is inaccurate (e) inaccurate due to Tribunal / Court decision (f) Effective Date is wrong (g) New (h) Deletion (i) List should show part of the hereditament is domestic or exempt (j) List should not show part of the hereditament is domestic or exempt (m) address is wrong (n) description is wrong (o) statement under s53 about the hereditament is wrong

3.1 Who can make proposals

IP

An IP can make a proposal on any of the above grounds.

Former IP on or after date of check request

A former IP, who was an IP at the date of check request but subsequently left, can make a proposal on any grounds for the period in which they were an IP ie had an interest in the property

Former IP prior to date of check request

A former IP who was not an IP at the date of check request is limited to 3 grounds of proposal only, (c), (d) and (f) for the period in which they were an IP ie had an interest in the property.

If the proposer does not constitute one of the above, or in the case of a former IP pre date of check request selects grounds that they are not permitted to, then the proposal is unlawful and should be rejected.

4.0 Checks

Checks should be made via the VO portal, prior to a proposal being submitted, (Reg 4A) unless another method is agreed.

A check request for information (Reg 4B(2)) has to be made first before the IP can confirm the check.(Reg 4C) As the valuations for the Central List are not published on the intranet, then in all cases for the Central List the IP will have to make a request for a copy of the information held on the subject property prior to providing confirmation of the facts.

The CVO is required to serve an acknowledgement of the check confirmation stating the date on which it was received.

Having determined if the Central List needs amendment, the CVO is required to serve a notice of completion on the IP. This notice needs to state details of any changes to the list and to the information held on the property (ie the valuation).(see Reg 4F for matters to include)

Once the Check has been completed then the period for submitting a proposal is triggered.

A check is completed by the notice being issued or 12 months from the date of check confirmation

5.0 Proposals

5.1 Service

Proposal are required to be served via the VO/CVO portal unless otherwise agreed.

5.2 Time limit

The IP has 4 months from completion of check to submit a proposal, unless it is for an external MCC (ie re Sched 6 para 2(7)(d) or (e) ) in which case it is 16 months from the confirmation of check, whichever is later.

5.3 Unlawful proposals

A proposal will be unlawful if:

1) It was not served via the portal or as agreed 2) It was not made by an IP or former IP (3.1) 3) It was not submitted within the appropriate time limits. (5.2) 4) A notice of completion of check has not been served and 12 months has not elapsed (premature) 5) Includes more that one ground and the MD / ED are different (Reg 4(6)) 6) Includes more than one hereditament and the IP does not have the same capacity for all the hereditaments and they are not within the same building or curtilage (reg 4(7)) 7) If the proposal is for a split or merger it is unlawful 8) MCC proposal – a proposal has already been submitted previously for the same MCC (Reg 6A(3)) 9) A check was submitted that gave details of the same MCC but no proposal was submitted within the time limits. (Reg 6A(3))

Unlike the Local List – the provisions regarding duplicates, proposals against list alterations arising from proposals or VT decisions do not apply for the Central List.

5.4 Incomplete Proposals

The requirements regarding the content of the proposal are set out in Reg 6(4) – (7). If one of those items are missing then the proposal must be made incomplete. (Reg 8) When making a proposal incomplete the CVO must serve a notice on the proposer stating what information is missing and the date of service of the notice.

If a proposal is incomplete the Proposer has the balance of the submission time to re-submit a fresh proposal.

5.5 Acknowledgement of proposal

The CVO is required within 4 weeks of receiving the proposal to acknowledge its receipt which must include information relating to the effects of paras 9-13E, ie the CCA process. The CVO is also required to send a copy of the proposal on the Secretary of state.

5.6 Reg 9 Process to follow:

On receipt of the proposal, the CVO, if reasonable to do so must send information held relating to the grounds to the proposer. (Initial response (IR)). (Reg 9(7)) The proposer can then provide a response to the IR, but must not include any new grounds (Reg 9(8)) New evidence, ie that not known at the date of proposal, may be admitted and responded to by the CVO. Any evidence received from the BA must be forwarded to the Proposer who can supply a response, (Reg 9(6)), similarly any information from a third party may also be sent (Reg 9(9)) If the Proposer has submitted extra evidence that does not relate to the VO response and is not new, then the VO can agree to admit this evidence and respond to it (Reg 9(11)). The alternative is to reject the evidence as not falling within one of the above categories of evidence and the Proposer will have to consider making a Reg 17A (SI 2009/2269) application at appeal stage for its inclusion. All evidence provided only by the Proposer at challenge forms part of the proposal.

5.7 Resolving the proposal

The same processes are followed for the Central List as per the local list. See the main section on CCA challenges for more information on well-founding, agreement, withdrawals and the Decision Notice.

The only difference between the processes is with the issue of copies of the Decision Notice. The CVO is not required to send a copy to the Billing Authority.

6.0 Appeals

The same procedures apply for the Central List as for the Local List. See main section in CCA on appeals.

7.0 Effective Dates

The rules for the Central List are the same as those for the local list with the exception that Reg 14(3) and (4) do not apply. i.e. Effective Dates regarding completion notices