Proactive approach to sporting rates urged

Rural businesses and landowners are being advised to prepare appeals against the sporting rates valuation notices which are about to be issued by assessors, writes Nancy Nicolson.

Sporting rates are being reintroduced in Scotland after a gap of 22 years, and last November rural businesses were asked for details of their land’s sporting right potential on which the valuation scheme would be based.

However according to land agents Savills, it is unrealistic to expect accuracy given the enormity of the task and the time and resources available to the assessors.

The company suggests that the new rates will rely on the appeals system to ensure fair assessments are arrived at, and advises businesses to make use of the six-month window from receiving a notice to lodging such an appeal.

Savills rural director in Perth, Hugo Struthers, said: “The assessors are in the midst of an enormous challenge.

“If we look back to 1995, around 7,000 entries were included in the roll and if anything this number will have increased in the intervening 22 years.

“This is why the notices are being issued in phases.

“Rural business and landowners need to be proactive: they need to gather together all valuation notices received, along with the information provided in their information request forms, and finally they need to investigate how the immediate liability can be mitigated by the available reliefs and processes they must follow.”

Ratepayers can either submit their own appeal or seek professional representation to dispute any part of the valuation assessment they have been issued.

Mr Struthers added: “It is important for the landowning sector to take a collaborative approach with the assessors, using the appeals process: there is a six-month window to initiate this.

“Once it has passed the opportunity is lost to correct any errors or anomalies that may have been made in these early stages of this new valuation scheme.

“The devil will be in the detail, but unfortunately that detail will only really become apparent when rates are fully scrutinised.”