Non-domestic rates proposal-lodging deadline extension: survey analysis

Overview

This document summarises responses from a survey conducted by the Scottish Government Non-Domestic Rates (NDR) policy team seeking views on the 2023 extension to the proposal-lodging deadline for non-domestic property rating valuations.

In the New Deal for Business Group Report on progress and recommendations published in June 2023, some business members of the non-domestic rates sub-group requested that Scottish Government give urgent consideration to extending the timetable for submitting a proposal challenging a valuation from 31 July to 30 September 2023, while other members of the NDR sub-group expressed concern that any changes to the deadline for proposals would introduce significant risks to the integrity of the non-domestic rates system and the ability to deliver a three-yearly revaluation cycle with a two-stage appeal process. In response, in July 2023, the Scottish Government announced that it would extend the 31 July 2023 deadline to 31 August 2023. The New Deal for Business Group Implementation Plan committed the Scottish Government to doing a survey to gather views on the impact of the extension of the proposal-lodging deadline, and this survey was issued via the NDR sub-group, the Scottish Assessors Association, the Scottish Ratepayers Forum and the Scottish Rating Surveyors Forum.

The survey opened in May and closed on 24 July 2024. It sought views on the impact of this extension and on the proposals system more generally. Findings will inform decisions about any potential improvements to the proposals system including the proposal-lodging deadline, in advance of the 2026 revaluation.

The following analysis has been undertaken by a Scottish Government social researcher in collaboration with the NDR policy team. It is based on 19 responses from individuals and organisations (21 responses were received but two respondents responded ‘no’ or ‘maybe’ to the consent question; these responses have therefore been excluded from the analysis). This included seven respondents who stated they were ‘individuals’ and nine from organisations (seven from the private sector, one public sector and one unspecified). All responses below have been anonymised.