Application, citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations, which apply in relation to England only, may be cited as the Council Tax and Non-Domestic Rating (Demand Notices) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 and shall come into force on 31^st March 2012.

Amendments

2.  The Council Tax and Non-Domestic Rating (Demand Notices) (England) Regulations 2003(2) are amended as follows.

Content of demand notices

3.  In regulation 3(4), for “Part 2 of that Schedule”, substitute “paragraphs 2 to 4 of Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the Council Tax (Demand Notices) (England) Regulations 2011(3)”.

Matters to be contained in a rate demand notice

4.  For the explanatory notes in paragraph 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 2, substitute—

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Council Tax and Non-Domestic Rating (Demand Notices) (England) Regulations 2003 (“the 2003 Regulations”) in relation to non-domestic rating demand notices only.

Schedule 2 to the 2003 Regulations sets out the matters which must be included in a non-domestic rating demand notice. Part 1 of that Schedule applies to a demand notice sent by a billing authority other than a rural settlement authority (to which Part 2 of Schedule 2 applies) and a special authority (to which Part 3 of Schedule 2 applies). The term “special authority” is defined in section 144(6) of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 (“the 1988 Act”). The term “rural settlement authority” is defined in the 2003 Regulations as a billing authority which has, in respect of the relevant year, identified one or more rural settlements for that year in a list compiled under section 42A(2) of the 1988 Act. The explanatory notes which are required by each Part give the recipient of a rates bill information about the bill and the reliefs that are available.

These Regulations substitute new explanatory notes for those in Part 1 and Part 3 of Schedule 2 to the 2003 Regulations. The new explanatory notes update the information to be provided to ratepayers to take account of certain changes to non-domestic rating that are due to take effect from 1st April 2010. In particular, the notes have been changed to reflect recent changes to Small Business Rate Relief and to add information regarding the cancellation of certain backdated non-domestic rates liabilities.