Arrears and debt recovery
Find out what happens when you do not pay your Business Rates
Learn about the enforcement process applied and useful links for debt advice.
What happens when you don't pay your Business Rates
Business rates are payable in monthly instalments. If you are billed before the financial year, we will automatically give you 10 monthly instalments which we can extend to 12 monthly instalments by request.
If you are billed within the financial year, you will be given as many monthly instalments as possible. We can extend these to March by request. Your bill will detail the amounts you must pay and the dates they are due.
Reminder Notice
If you do not pay an instalment at the correct time, for the correct amount, you will receive a Reminder Notice. If you do not pay the amount on the Reminder Notice within seven days, you will be issued with a Final Notice.
Final Notice
A Final Notice will be issued if the outstanding balance has not been paid by the date advised on the Reminder Notice. You will lose your right to pay by instalments and the full balance will become payable.
Summons
If you do not pay the full balance by the date advised on the Final Notice, you will be sent a court summons advising you that we will be applying to the Magistrate’s Court to obtain a liability order against you. An additional £57.50 Summons fee will be incurred at this point.
Liability Orders
If the full balance plus the Summons fee of £57.50 has not been paid by the court date outlined within the Summons letter, the court will grant the liability order. You will be charged an extra £35 for the liability order, bringing the total costs incurred to £92.50.
The liability order allows us to:
- Refer your account to an enforcement agent.
- Start insolvency proceedings against you.
Paying What You Owe
If you pay what you owe, from the date we receive payment all recovery action and costs will stop.
If you are not able to pay in full, you should contact us immediately as we may be able to agree a payment arrangement.
If you believe that your Business Rates are incorrect, please contact us before the hearing date to discuss your account.
Please note: Magistrates will not consider appeals to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), an agency of His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. The Magistrate will grant the liability order based on your liability to pay Business Rates.
Enforcement Agents
If a liability order is passed to an Enforcement Agent, you will incur additional costs. You will be charged these additional costs once the order is received by the agent.
Bankruptcy/Liquidation
Should the Enforcement action not pay your bill in full, we can then apply to the County Court to have your company wound up or to make you bankrupt. This is an extremely serious step and will mean that you are liable for further costs such as solicitors and insolvency fees.
Debt Advice
If you are experiencing financial problems, then it may help if you seek independent guidance from an advice agency. Local and national agencies that give free advice can be found online.
Useful Links
Page last reviewed: 3 March 2025