The NFRN welcomes the Supreme Court’s ruling on May 20 that retailers with ATMs should be exempt from paying additional business rates.
The £430 million payout will be a lifeline for many independent retailers, particularly during these unprecedented times.
The news comes after the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) tried to make ATMs in stores liable for business rates on top of their stores’ business rates.
However, in 2018 the Court of Appeal ruled that ATMs within stores – whether internal or external facing – should not have separate business rates.
In our 2019 Independent Retail Report, the NFRN addressed the VOA’s appeal, stating: “In November 2018, the Appeal Court ruled that retailers will no longer have to pay business rates for cash machines outside their shops and that they will be refunded for the previous payments backdating to April 2010.
“The NFRN immediately contacted its members, to identify those who might receive a refund. If the Government appeal is turned down, the NFRN is ready to start the process and retrieve their money.”
However, the VOA decided to appeal this ruling, but this was rejected by the Supreme Court earlier this week.
According to the real estate advisory firm Altus Group, affected retailers will now receive £428.69 million in reimbursement of erroneous bills sent out on over 15,000 cash machines in England and Wales during the last decade since 2010.
Responding to the Supreme Court’s decision, National President Stuart Reddish said: “We are relieved by this latest ruling and will be pushing for rebates for our members.
“The £430 million payout will be a tax lifeline for our members, especially during these highly-challenging times.”
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