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The Non-Domestic Rates (Renewable Energy Generation Relief) (Scotland) Regulations 2010

S.S.I. 2010/44 · Made 10 February 2010 · Extends to Scotland

Up to date with all changes known to legislation.gov.uk, revised to 1 April 2023.

Rating And Valuation

Made 10th February 2010

Laid before the Scottish Parliament 10th February 2010

Coming into force 1st April 2010

The Scottish Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 153 of The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994f1 and all other powers enabling them to do so.C1C2

Annotations to the whole text

Modifications

C1

Regulations restricted (1.4.2021 with application in accordance with reg. 1(2) of the amending S.S.I.) by The Non-Domestic Rates (Restriction of Relief) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 (S.S.I. 2021/145), regs. 1(1), 3

C2

Regulations restricted (with application to the financial year beginning 1.4.2023 and each subsequent financial year) by The Non-Domestic Rates (Restriction of Relief) (Scotland) Regulations 2023 (S.S.I. 2023/28), regs. 1, 3

Footnotes

f1

c.39; the functions of the Secretary of State were transferred to the Scottish Ministers by virtue of the Scotland Act 1998 (c.46), section 53.

Contents

  1. 1Citation and commencement
  2. 2Interpretation
  3. 3Amount payable as rates– lands and heritages used for renewable energy generation
  4. 3AProjects referred to in regulation 3(1)
  5. 3BAmount payable as rates - lands and heritages used for generation of renewable energy from water
  6. 3CRelief – further provision
  7. 4Applications for relief
  8. 5Exemptions and discretionary reductions and remissions
  9. Signature
  10. Explanatory note

1Citation and commencementI1

These Regulations may be cited as the Non-Domestic Rates (Renewable Energy Generation Relief) (Scotland) Regulations 2010 and come into force on 1st April 2010.

2InterpretationI1

In these Regulations:—

  • “the 1975 Act” means the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1975f1;

  • “electronic communication” has the meaning given to it in section 15(1) of the Electronic Communications Act 2000f2;

  • “lands and heritages” has the meaning prescribed by and under section 42 of the Lands Valuation (Scotland) Act 1854f3;

  • F1“local authority” means the rating authority in whose valuation roll the entry for the lands and heritages appears;

  • “rateable value” means the rateable value entered in the valuation roll for that date in respect of the applicable lands and heritages and includes a rateable value so entered with retrospective effect;

  • “renewable heat or power” means heat or power produced from the following sources—

    1. (a)

      biomass;

    2. (b)

      biofuels;

    3. (c)

      fuel cells;

    4. (d)

      photovoltaics;

    5. (e)

      water (including waves and tides, but excluding production from the pumped storage of water);

    6. (f)

      wind;

    7. (g)

      solar power;

    8. (h)

      geothermal sources;

    but heat or power produced by a combined heat and power system is not renewable unless that system uses only sources of energy described in sub-paragraphs (a) to (h) F2... ; and

  • “valuation roll” means the roll made up under section 1 of the 1975 Actf4.

3Amount payable as rates– lands and heritages used for renewable energy generationI1

(1)

This regulation grants relief to a person who is liable to pay rates levied under section 7B of the 1975 Actf1 in respect of lands and heritages on a day where—

(a)

that person uses the lands and heritages solely for the generation of renewable heat or power (or both);

F1(aa)

the lands and heritages are used for a project falling within regulation 3A (whether that project is carried out wholly on those lands and heritages or partly on those, and partly on other, lands and heritages); and

(b)

application for relief is made in accordance with regulation 4 F2on or after 1st April 2016.

(2)

F3... The relief granted by paragraph (1) shall be a reduction of the rates payable, by the percentage specified in the right hand column of the table below which corresponds to the range specified in the left hand column of that table into which the rateable value of the lands and heritages falls.

Rateable Value

Percentage of rates relief

£145,000 or less100%
More than £145,000 but not exceeding £430,00050%
More than £430,000 but not exceeding £860,00025%
More than £860,000 but not exceeding £4,000,00010%
More than £4,000,0002.5%
F4(3)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3AProjects referred to in regulation 3(1)F1

(1)

A project falls within this regulation if there are arrangements in place which give to a community organisation or community organisations, in return for investment in the project by that organisation or those organisations, entitlement to a sum equivalent to—

(a)

at least 15% of the annual profit of the project; or

(b)

so much of the annual profit of the project as is attributable to F20.5 of a megawatt of the total installed capacity of the project (or more).

(2)

In paragraph (1), “community organisation” has the same meaning as in article 11 of the Feed-in Tariffs Order 2012f1.

3BAmount payable as rates - lands and heritages used for generation of renewable energy from waterF1

(1)

This regulation grants relief to a person who is liable to pay rates levied under section 7B of the 1975 Act in respect of lands and heritages where—

(a)

the rateable value of the lands and heritages does not exceed £5 million; and

(b)

the lands and heritages are used solely for the generation of renewable heat or power, or both, from water.

(2)

The relief granted by paragraph (1) is to be a reduction of the rates payable by 60%.

3CRelief – further provisionF1

(1)

Where relief is granted under regulation 3, no relief is to be granted under regulation 3B in respect of the same lands and heritages.

(2)

The amount of relief calculated under regulation 3 or 3B is to be applied before the calculation of any other relief.

(F22A)

No relief is granted by regulation 3B for any day after the financial year ending with 31 March 2032.

F3(3)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F4(4)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4Applications for reliefI1

(1)

An application under these Regulations for relief shall be signed by the ratepayer or a person authorised to sign on behalf of the ratepayer, and—

(a)

“person authorised to sign on behalf of the ratepayer” means, where the ratepayer is—

(i)

a partnership, a partner of that partnership;

(ii)

a trust, a trustee of that trust;

(iii)

a body corporate, a director of that body; and

(b)

“sign” or “signed”, in relation to an application made by electronic communication means an electronic signature, as defined in section 7(2) of the Electronic Communications Act 2000.

(2)

An application under paragraph (1) shall be made to the local authority by—

(a)

addressing it to the authority; and

(b)

delivering it or sending it to the authority’s office by post or electronic communication.

5Exemptions and discretionary reductions and remissionsI1

Nothing in these Regulations shall—

(a)

require rates to be paid in respect of lands and heritages for any day where those lands and heritages are under any enactment entirely exempt from rates for that day; or

(b)

prejudice any power of a rating authority to grant a reduction or remission of rates under section 4(5) of the Local Government (Financial Provisions etc.) (Scotland) Act 1962f1, section 25A of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1966f2 or paragraph 4 of Schedule 2 to the Local Government and Rating Act 1997f3.

Signature

JOHN SWINNEY

A member of the Scottish Executive

St Andrew’s House

Edinburgh,

10th February 2010

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make provision to reduce the amount payable as non–domestic rates in respect of subjects in Scotland used solely for the generation of renewable heat or power (or both). They apply from the start of the 2010-2011 financial year.

Regulation 3 provides for a reduction in rates in accordance with a sliding scale for a person liable to pay non-domestic rates where the qualifying conditions are satisfied. The table in regulation 3(2) sets out the reduction, according to the value of the lands and heritages, on a sliding scale.

Regulation 4 provides that an application must be made to obtain the relief.

Regulation 5 allows for exemptions and discretionary reductions.