Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about whether a business rates demand was served too late to be valid. It is more appropriately a matter for the courts.

The complaint

1. Mr X’s representative, Miss Y, complains the Council breached its statutory duties and case law by issuing business rates demands late. She says paying the demands will cause Mr X’s business financial difficulty and, had the business known sooner, it might have made different decisions and avoided such difficulty.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We have the power to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been, raised within a court of law. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant’s representative.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA), not the Council, compiles and makes changes to the rating list and decides if a business is liable for business rates and, if so, its rateable value.
6. The Council inspected Mr X’s business premises in 2022 and reported some changes to the VOA. The VOA then increased the business’ rateable value and backdated the change by several years. The Council then demanded business rates for the backdated period.
7. Miss Y argues the Council, which had known about matters at the premises for some years, could reasonably have obtained relevant information or inspected sooner and therefore should have contacted the VOA sooner. She argues the Council did not therefore meet its legal duty to issue demands as soon as reasonably practicable.
8. The Council and Miss Y disagree about whether the Council issued the demand as soon as reasonably practicable. That includes disagreement about some of the reasons the Council gave for not acting sooner and about the relevance of some case law to Mr X’s circumstances.
9. The question of whether a business rates demand is invalid due to being issued late is not straightforward legally. The Council can only require payment of the disputed amount if it gets a court order. If the Council seeks a court order, Mr X will be able to argue his case. The court could then decide the matter definitively. The court could also make a binding order, which the Ombudsman cannot. There might be a cost to court action, but that does not in itself automatically mean the Ombudsman should investigate. This complaint is mainly about whether legislation and case law have been properly applied to Mr X’s case. Interpreting the law is primarily for the courts.
10. In the circumstances, it is more appropriate for the courts than the Ombudsman to decide this matter.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it would be reasonable for Mr X to argue his case in court if the Council seeks a court order to make him pay.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman