Explanatory note

This Order removes the requirement that, to be eligible for small business rate relief, a ratepayer must occupy a hereditament with a rateable value of no more than £21,499 in Greater London, or £14,999 outside Greater London, on the first day of each financial year in which relief is sought. It does this by amending the Non-Domestic Rating (Small Business Rate Relief) (England) Order 2004, which prescribes the conditions for entitlement to small business rate relief.

This Order also makes consequential amendments to the 2004 Order so that the rateable value of the hereditament in respect of which a ratepayer is seeking relief must still be no more than £21,499 in Greater London, or £14,999 outside Greater London, on every day for which relief is actually sought.

The amendments made by this Order apply for the purposes of applications for small business rate relief in respect of days in the financial year which begins on 1st April 2009 and subsequent financial years.

A full impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector is available from the Department for Communities and Local Government’s Business Rates and Valuation Division (telephone 020 7944 4224) and is annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside the instrument on the OPSI website (www.opsi.gov.uk).