Retail Hospitality and Leisure Relief 2022

Retail discounts for 2019 to 2021, have been replaced by Retail Hospitality and Leisure Relief 2022.

Businesses in occupied properties which are wholly or mainly being used:

• as shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas or live music venues
• for assembly and leisure; or
• as hotels, guest & boarding premises or self-catering accommodation

Read the retail, hospitality and leisure relief 2022 criteria in more detail

Reductions of 50% are available up to a cap of £110,000 per business in England.  Reductions are also subject to subsidy allowance rules.

Eligibility and relief are calculated on a daily basis. This is after any other reductions have been applied. Relief ends on 31 March 2023 or when the business no longer meets the criteria, whichever is the earliest.

Ratepayers that occupy more than one property will be entitled to relief for each of their eligible properties. This is subject to the cash caps.

We will recalculate the relief if there is a retrospective change to eligibility. For example:

• a backdated increase in rateable value in future years
• a reduction which reduces the gross rates payable.
• a new hereditament created as a result of a split or merger during the financial year
• where there is a change of use, this will be considered afresh for the relief on that day.

Under the cash cap, no ratepayer can in any circumstances exceed the £110,000 cash cap across all their properties in England.

Where a ratepayer has a qualifying connection with another ratepayer then those ratepayers should be considered as one ratepayer for the purposes of the cash caps. A ratepayer shall be treated as having a qualifying connection with another:

1.  where both ratepayers are companies, and

•  one is a subsidiary of the other, or
• both are subsidiaries of the same company; or

2. where only one ratepayer is a company, the other ratepayer (the "second ratepayer") has such an interest in that company as would, if the second ratepayer were a company, result in its being the holding company of the other.

We can provide relief that falls within the Small Amounts of Financial Assistance Allowance.  

Article 364 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) allows an economic actor (e.g. a holding company and its subsidiaries) to receive up to 325,000 Special Drawing Rights (£343,000 as at 9 December 2021) in a three-year period (consisting of the 2022/23 year and the two previous financial years).  

Expanded Retail Discount granted in either 2020/21 or 2021/22 does not count towards the £343,000 allowance but BEIS business grants (throughout the 3 years) and any other subsidies claimed under the Small Amounts of Financial Assistance limit should be counted.

Due to the cash cap and subsidy allowance criteria we have not applied Retail Hospitality and Leisure Relief to all bills.

If you believe you qualify email Brates@guildford.gov.uk. Add 'Retail 2022' to the email the heading.

Provide the following in the email:

• your account reference (beginning with X found on the top right of your bill)
• details of the properties you are applying for
• confirm the use of each property
• confirmation of the capacity in which you are applying for the relief. (For example, sole trader, managing director, chief accountant, partner)
• ​​​​​​​declarations that:
  • My business will not exceed the £110,000 cap for all properties in England
  • ​​​​​​​My business will not exceed Subsidy Allowance Thresholds by receiving more than £343,000 in total of Small Amounts of Financial Assistance over three years (including 2022-23)​​​​​​​

Ratepayers can opt out (refuse) the relief for a specific property at any time up to 30 April 2023.  The ratepayer cannot withdraw their refusal for either all or part of the financial year.  By virtue of refusing the relief the property is ineligible for the relief.