Several changes have been made to the Welsh Assembly Small Business Rates Relief Scheme 2008 under the Non-Domestic Rating (Small Business Relief) (Wales) Order 2017. This Scheme provides for a Small Business Rate Relief Scheme for Wales in accordance with S43 (4B) of the Local Government Act, 1988. The Scheme and the changes are described below. Please note that this relief is automatically applied to qualifying hereditaments.
Where a ratepayer is liable to pay non-domestic rates for more than two hereditaments shown on a local non-domestic rating list which satisfy only the conditions in article 7 (rateable value conditions), the ratepayer must give notice of those hereditaments to the billing authority for that list in accordance with article 13.
| Category | Rateable Value £ | Relief (%) |
|---|
| Rateable Value |
0 – 6,000 |
100 |
| Rateable Value |
6,001 – 12,000 |
Tapered from 100 to 0 |
| Child Care |
|
100 |
| Child Care |
|
Tapered from 100 to 0 |
| Post Office |
|
100 |
| Post Office |
|
50 |
Retail Property
The specific SBRR category for retail properties will be removed from 1st April 2018.
Child Care
The Welsh Government has introduced a change to the permanent Small Business Rate Relief Scheme for Registered Childcare premises. From 01 April 2019, all Registered Childcare providers will receive 100% exemption on their Business Rates.
Mandatory/Discretionary Reliefs
Properties where Mandatory and Discretionary Reliefs are awarded will not be entitled to Small Business Rate Relief from 1st April 2018.
Two Property Limit
From 1st April 2018, Ratepayers will only be entitled to Small Business Rate Relief on a maximum of two properties (excluding Child Care and Post Offices). Where the ratepayer is liable for Business Rates for more than two properties, the award will be based on the two that have the highest notional values, i.e. either the RV (if less than or equal to £6,001) or calculated by the appropriate formula.
Please note that where a ratepayer is liable to pay non-domestic rates for more than two hereditaments shown on a local non-domestic rating list which satisfy only the conditions in article 7 (rateable value conditions), the ratepayer must give notice of those hereditaments to the billing authority for that list in accordance with article 13.
State Aid
This relief is granted as de minimis aid in line with Commission Regulation (EC) no.1998/2006 of 15th December 2006. There is currently a ceiling of 200,000 Euros (around £160,000) on the total de minimis aid that can be granted to any one organization from all public sources over a three year period. If you consider that you have already received in excess of, or close to, this sum over the past three years, please contact your local authority. Any de minimis aid awarded to you under this scheme should be declared if you wish to apply, or have applied, for any other public funding operated as de minimis aid.
Notes: All business properties must be wholly occupied to qualify for relief.
- Properties not eligible for relief include: those occupied by a council, police authority or the Crown; those occupied by charities, registered clubs, or not-for-profit bodies whose main objectives are philanthropic, religious, concerned with education, social welfare, science, literature or the fine arts; beach huts; property which is used exclusively for the display of advertisements, parking of motor vehicles, sewage works or electronic communications apparatus.
The Non-Domestic Rating (Small Business Relief) (Wales) (Amendment) Order 2019
Please find attached a link to the Non-Domestic Rating (Small Business Relief) (Wales) Order 2019, introduced by the Welsh Government. This Order clarifies that separately valued ATMs are not eligible for SBRR, in line with the long-standing Welsh Government policy position. The Order will come into force from 1 April 2020.
The Non-Domestic Rating (Small Business Relief) (Wales) (Amendment) Order 2019 (legislation.gov.uk)
Business Wales