What happens if you do not pay your business rates bill?

We recognise that individuals and businesses may struggle to pay their Business Rates liability. However, if you do not contact us and do not make payment(s) in line with your bill(s), action will be taken to recover any outstanding money and you may incur additional costs.

By paying your business rates, you’re contributing towards Salford’s growth and the quality of life for residents. Business rates generate funds which help the council provide around 800 services from economic development and emergency planning to environmental health and trading standards.

Business rates are a central government tax on commercial properties. Although, since 2013 in line with the Business Rates Retention Scheme (BRSS) local authorities now keep a proportion of the income they collect from business rates, with Salford currently retaining 99%.

With significant reductions in government grants, all councils have become more reliant on business rates to support the provision of local services. It is therefore imperative that these bills are paid.

An annual bill is sent to every business rate payer in March ahead of the new financial year, which tells you how much you need to pay and by when.

If you do not pay as requested, we will send you a reminder notice.

If you are making regular payments but are paying later than the dates shown on your business rates bill, you may receive a reminder notice because your payments are late. If you want to change the date your payment is due please complete the online form.

If you keep missing your instalments, we will send you a final notice to pay the full outstanding balance and you may lose the right to pay by instalments.

Please do not ignore any of these notices, as the next step will be to take legal action to recover the debt.  Escalating to legal proceedings is the last course of action when trying to recover any outstanding payments. We always strive to work with businesses to come to a solution that works for everyone.

If you are experiencing difficulty in paying your business rates bill, please contact us on 0161 793 2500 or via the webchat on this page as soon as possible.

Check out our BetterOff service to explore the support available for your business.

You must pay the amount shown on the reminder within seven days, this will bring your account up to date, then you need to pay all your instalments on time in future.

If you are experiencing difficulty in paying your business rates bill, please contact us on 0161 793 2500 or via the webchat on this page as soon as possible.

We will take action to recover outstanding money when you owe business rates and have not paid after a reminder or final notice.

This will involve the issuing of a Magistrates’ Court summons. This is a court document informing you of the date and time a liability order hearing is to be scheduled.

The summons will show the amount you owe the council. Additional court costs incurred will be added to your business rates account if not paid before the hearing date.

It will also detail a proposed payment arrangement for the balance, including costs. We will still request a liability order from the Magistrates’ Court. No further action will be taken if you keep to the payments as detailed on the summons.

To stop this court action, you should pay the amount shown on your Summons in full before the court date or court costs of £79.50 will be added to your account.

If you can't pay the full amount before the court date, please get in touch with us straight away. We may be able to agree a special arrangement with you to spread your payments. This will not stop the court action and will include further costs.

You can get in touch by phoning us on 0161 793 2500 or via the webchat on this page.

All hearings are now carried out remotely by telephone. You should not attend the court hearing in person unless this has been pre-arranged with the council and the court.

If you dispute the court summons, then you will need to complete a pre-hearing assessment with the council. Guidance on how is detailed on the summons.

You do not need to attend the remote court hearing if you have accepted the proposed payment arrangement, agreed an alternative arrangement or have paid the balance in full.

On the date of the hearing, the Magistrates will be asked to grant a liability order against you which will allow us to take further action to recover the amount owed.

If you wish to dispute the Summons because you believe you have a valid defence against it, you should contact us immediately.

If you do not have a valid defence, the Magistrates will grant a liability order. 

The following are not valid defences: 

• I do not think that I should have to pay.
• I was advised by the landlord/agent that I would not have to pay business rates.
• I cannot afford to pay.
• I have lodged a check or challenge to your rateable value with the Valuation Office Agency.
• I have an outstanding appeal with the valuation tribunal.

A liability order will be granted by the Magistrates if they are satisfied that the amount remains unpaid.

A liability order allows the council to take the following recovery action to recover outstanding business rates:

• Instruct an Enforcement Agent to recover unpaid business rates: Enforcement Agents (formerly known as bailiffs) will always try to contact you to offer you the opportunity to settle the debt either in full or by a payment arrangement.
  If an enforcement agent is instructed, it will cost you £75. If the agent then visits your property, you'll be charged a further £235 plus 7.5% of any balance above £1,500. The agent will be instructed to remove goods to the value of the debt. If goods are taken, these will be sold at auction, and you'll have to pay additional fees for this.

Once your debt has been passed to an Enforcement Agent you need to contact them directly to discuss. Their contact details will be on the letter sent or their website. Any payment arrangements made must be with the Enforcement Agent and not the council.

• Commence insolvency proceedings: This action would seek to wind up your company and put it into liquidation, or make you bankrupt if you are a sole trader.

These recovery actions may increase the amount you owe by adding costs; to avoid any additional costs you should make arrangements with us to pay as soon as possible.

Please do not ignore a summons or a liability order as this will lead to further action being taken against you and further costs being added to the amount you owe.

There is an opportunity to make a payment arrangement when a liability order is granted by the Magistrates’ Court. This is called a special arrangement and works very similar to a normal payment plan but with added court fees of £79.50.

Please note that any default of the special arrangement may result in the account being passed to our enforcement agents and you will no longer be able to pay the debt directly to Salford City Council.

If you would like to discuss setting up a special arrangement, please contact us to discuss your account on 0161 793 2500 or via the webchat on this page.

Enforcement Agents (formerly known as bailiffs) are contracted by the council to recover unpaid business rates.

An enforcement agent will always try to contact you to offer you the opportunity to settle the debt either in full or by a payment arrangement. If an enforcement agent is instructed, it will cost you £75. If the agent then visits your property, you'll be charged a further £235 plus 7.5% of any balance above £1,500. The agent will be instructed to remove goods to the value of the debt. If goods are taken, these will be sold at auction, and you'll have to pay additional fees for this

Salford City Council use two external enforcement agencies to recover debts of unpaid business rates.

• Bristow and Sutor
• Rundles

If you receive a letter or a visit from an enforcement agent you should call the number you have been given to talk to the agent or you can use the agents interactive websites to set up a payment arrangement, make payments, check your balance, update your contact details, make an enquiry or tell them something.

You can find more information about the role of enforcement agents published by the central government.