Non-payment of business rates

If you are experiencing financial difficulties and cannot afford to pay your business rates, you should contact us immediately, so that we can check to make sure you receive the discounts and reliefs to which you are entitled.

By law, we must send a reminder notice if your instalments are not up to date.

If a reminder notice is issued and you do not bring your instalments up to date within 14 days, then the right to pay by instalments will be withdrawn. If full payment is not received you will be sent a Magistrates' Court summons and you will have to pay additional court costs as well as your Business Rates charge. The Council will apply to the Court for a liability order against the account, which grants us further powers to collect the money outstanding. The account may then be issued to an Enforcement Agent, who will collect the money on our behalf, referred for insolvency proceedings or back to Magistrates' Court for committal to prison proceedings.

If you have received a Magistrates’ Court summons you should contact:

Business Rates Team
Telephone on 024 7683 2525 or email businessrates@coventry.gov.uk.

After the summons hearing date you should contact:

Enforcement Team
Telephone: 024 7683 1544 or email enforcement@coventry.gov.uk.

If your account has been issued to the Enforcement Agent, you should make any payments direct to them. They may be willing to make a short-term payment arrangement with you. If you still do not make payment, or default on an agreed payment arrangement, the enforcement agent may remove goods from your property. The goods will then be sold to cover the balance outstanding and the Enforcement Agent’s costs.

If the Enforcement Agent is unable to collect the amount due, we may begin insolvency proceedings, to declare you bankrupt or wind up your company, or as a last resort we may commence committal proceedings in the Magistrates’ Court which could result in a term of imprisonment.

We employ two Enforcement Agents. They are:

and

The enforcement agent process

1. The Enforcement Agent administration stage is where the enforcement starts initial contact with the debtor. This results in administration fees being charged to the debtor but allows the debtor a period of notice to come to a payment arrangement.
2. The next stage, called the enforcement stage, involves visiting the debtor’s property. This attracts a set fee to cover the enforcement agent’s work at this stage plus a further percentage fee for debts over a certain value.
3. If the Enforcement Agent seizes goods, the sale of the goods stage attracts further costs including fees to cover the removal of the goods and costs of re-selling them. A further percentage fee is charged for debts over a certain value.

Relevant legislation:

• Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013
• Taking Control of Goods (fees) Regulations 2014