Section 17 – Charitable relief: independent schools
84.Section 4 of the 1962 Act provides for relief in respect of payment of non-domestic rates in certain circumstances:
under subsection (2), relief of 80% is (provided written notice is given to the rating authority) automatically granted in respect of eligible lands and heritages. Eligible lands and heritages include lands and heritages occupied by (or by trustees for) a charity and used wholly or mainly for charitable purposes,
under subsection (5), a rating authority has discretion to grant relief to certain lands and heritages, including power to grant further relief to lands and heritages falling within subsection (2) (so a rating authority could grant relief from the remaining 20% of the rates payable in respect of lands and heritages occupied by charities).
85.Subsection (9) of section 4 of the 1962 Act provides that the reliefs under subsections (2) and (5) are not available in certain cases.
86.Section 17 of the Act amends section 4 of the 1962 Act in relation to the eligibility of mainstream independent schools which are charities for relief under subsections (2) and (5). Such schools are, by virtue of the amendment of section 4(9) of the 1962 Act made by section 17(2) of the Act, excluded from such eligibility. Schools which are no longer eligible for relief therefore lost their previous mandatory 80% relief under subsection (2) of section 4 of the 1962 Act when section 17 came into force.(22) Rating authorities will also lose their ability to grant discretionary relief to such schools under subsection (5) of that section. Any existing discretionary relief which was due to continue in effect beyond the date on which section 17 of the Act came into force instead ceased with effect from that date (new subsection (14) of section 4 of the 1962 Act, inserted by section 17(5) of the Act).
87.Certain types of independent school which are charities will continue to be eligible for relief under subsections (2) and (5) of section 4 of the 1962 Act (see new subsection (9A) of that section, inserted by section 17(3) of the Act). Those schools are independent special schools and specialist independent music schools.
Which was on 1 April 2022 (see the Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Act 2020 (Commencement No.2, Transitional and Saving Provisions) Amendment Regulations 2021 (S.S.I. 2021/120)).
