28.Subsections (1) and (2) provide that any person who is liable to pay national non-domestic rates under section 43 or 45 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 for a property is liable to pay a BRS levied by the levying authority in whose area that person’s property is situated. However:
a person liable to national non-domestic rates under section 45 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 as the owner of an empty property is not liable for a BRS if their liability to rates is zero as a consequence of section 45A of that Act or if the levying authority has exempted the owners of empty property from the BRS (subsection (3)). These persons are referred to as “section 45 ratepayers” and the definition in subsection (3) applies for the purposes of the whole Act by virtue of section 30(2);
a person is not subject to a BRS if the rateable value condition is not met; that is if the property in respect of which the person pays rates has a rateable value on the day in question which does not exceed the amount prescribed in regulations made under section 12(1) (subsection (5)(b)).
29.Under subsection (4), a person is subject to a daily charge for a BRS. BRS liability for a financial year is then determined by calculating the liability for each “chargeable day” and by adding up the total of the daily liabilities. Subsection (5) defines a “chargeable day”. This is one falling within the financial year and the period for which the supplement is imposed (“the chargeable period”), and where the rateable value condition is met.
30.Subsection (6) defines “chargeable period” and provides that this cannot start before the supplement has been imposed. The practical effect of this is that BRS liability cannot accrue in respect of any day prior to the day the BRS is introduced. Subsection (7) limits the length of a chargeable period; unless the period is extended through a variation to a supplement (under section 10), the chargeable period must be no longer than that specified in the final prospectus.