Retail, hospitality, leisure and aviation firms urged by Highland Council to apply for 100 per cent Non-Domestic Rates Relief
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
THOUSANDS of Highland business are to benefit from the extension of non-domestic rates relief – and Highland Council has urged them not to miss out.
A full 100 per cent Non-Domestic Rates Relief applies to the retail, hospitality, leisure and aviation sectors for the 12-months starting on April 1.
But unlike the current financial year, those businesses which qualify will need to apply for the relief that is available from April 1.
All eligible business are therefore encouraged to apply online using the application form that will be available from today (March 22) on Highland Council’s website.
To limit the disruption for qualifying business and to provide time to apply for this relief, the Council will not issue the 2021/22 annual rates bills for previously qualifying businesses in these sectors.
For those businesses that do not apply by April 30, the 2021/22 annual rates bills will then be issued, which is intended to act as a prompt to apply.
Although applications will be accepted after April 30, the council is urging all qualifying businesses to apply as soon as possible once the scheme is launched on 22 March 2021.
Sheila McKandie, Head of Revenues and Business Support, said: “This support provides 100 per cent relief from non-domestic rates for qualifying businesses. These sectors have been severely hit by the pandemic with many facing continued uncertainty about the future.
"On that basis, I encourage businesses in the retail, hospitality, leisure and aviation sectors to check the council’s website from March 22 and if they consider they meet the eligibility criteria, to then apply.
"Our dedicated staff are trained and will be available to process these applications as quickly as possible in order that qualifying businesses can be notified of their relief as quickly as possible.”
