Regulation 7 Amendment of the Non-Domestic Rating (Unoccupied Property) (Scotland) Regulations 1994

After Part 1 of the Schedule insert—

“PART 1A

The conditions specified in this Part are that—

(a)

an entry is made in respect of relevant lands and heritages onto the valuation roll made up under section 1 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1975^f1 on or after 1st April 2013, but no later than 31st March 2016, in pursuance of section 2(1)(b) of that Act (entries as a result of lands and heritages having come into existence or occupancy);

(b)

the entry is not made as a result of—

(i)

the combination or division of lands and heritages which are already entered on that valuation roll, in whole or in part; or

(ii)

the refurbishment or change of use of an existing building (and for these purposes a building includes domestic property and a building on relevant lands and heritages which are exempt from a requirement to pay rates);

(c)

the lands and heritages are unoccupied at the time the entry is made;

(d)

any rate relief granted in consequence of this Part would not be incompatible with article 107(1) of the Consolidated Version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

(e)

the person entitled to possession of the lands and heritages has submitted an application to the rating authority in whose valuation roll the entry for the lands and heritages appear, requesting that this Part apply to the lands and heritages, along with such information as is necessary for that authority to establish that the conditions in paragraphs (b) to (d) are met;

(f)

the application for this Part to apply to the lands and heritages relates to a day in the financial years 2013/14 to 2017/18;

(g)

where the authority referred to in paragraph (e) has requested further information to establish that the condition in paragraph (d) continues to be met, the person entitled to possession of the lands and heritages has supplied that information to the satisfaction of that authority; and

(h)

where an application has been granted to apply this Part to the lands and heritages, no longer than 15 months have elapsed since they were entered onto the valuation roll as referred to in paragraph (a), or where the lands and heritages have been occupied for some or all of that 15 month period, no longer than a period of 15 months plus the period or periods of occupation have so elapsed.”.