Methods of payment
For your convenience, there are several ways in which you can pay your business rates.
- Pay online - You can pay your invoice securely online using a credit or debit card. You will need your account number and the amount you wish to pay. Payment by credit card will incur a 2% service charge.
- Telephone payments - Pay by credit or debit card using our 24 hour automated hotline number 01443 863366. For this you will need your account number and the amount you wish to pay. Payment by credit card will incur a 2% service charge.
- Payment by post - Payment can be made by cheque or postal order crossed and made payable to 'Caerphilly County Borough Council'. We cannot accept post dated or third party cheques. Payment should be sent to Cash Office, Penallta House, Tredomen Park, Ystrad Mynach, Hengoed. CF82 7PG. Please do not send cash through the post and please write your account number on the back of the cheque or postal order.
- Online/telephone banking - To use a home banking service you will need the following details:
Business rates account number shown on your bill
Our bank account number 61211935
Our sort code 08-92-94
Our account name "Caerphilly County Borough Council"
- In person - Payment can be made in person, using cash or cheque at any one of our cash offices.
Who is liable to pay the bill?
Where a property is occupied, business rates are normally payable by the person, partnership or company in occupation.
On occasions, the occupier and the landlord make a private arrangement whereby the landlord is paid the rental, which is inclusive of business rates. Please be aware that where a private agreement may exist it is not legally binding on Caerphilly County Borough Council and therefore the occupier will continue to remain liable for payment of business rates.
If you are the occupier and have entered into a private agreement with your landlord, you will remain liable for payment, if the landlord fails to make payment on your behalf. All such bills and recovery letters will be issued in your name and not the landlord's.
All persons who have an equal interest in the premises will be jointly and severally liable. All jointly responsible persons will receive a copy of the non-domestic rate bill. Each person named on the bill will be liable to pay the total amount due, not just a proportion of the amount payable. In other words, Caerphilly County Borough Council can recover the business rates from any one of those persons named on the bill. We cannot become involved in any arrangements you may have made with the other jointly liable persons responsible for paying the bill.
What happens if I don't pay?
Once a bill has been issued, if you miss an instalment payment, a reminder notice will be issued giving you seven days to bring your payments up to date.
If you do not make the required payment within the time allowed, we will issue you with a final notice cancelling your right to pay by instalments and requiring you to pay the outstanding balance in full.
If the full balance is not paid, a Magistrates' Court summons will be issued for the outstanding amount plus costs.
Recovering business rates - our procedures
This is a more detailed explanation of our recovery procedures.
Current year bill
Following the bill, if any instalment payment is not fully paid on or before the due date a reminder notice is issued showing the overdue amount and requiring payment of that sum within 7 days.
If after 7 days the amount remains outstanding, a final notice may then be issued that cancels the instalment facility and advises that the total unpaid balance for the year is now payable within the next 7 days.
The final notice advises that failure to pay the full amount may lead to legal proceedings in the Magistrates' Court for a liability order including legal costs to be made. At this stage, if the opportunity is taken to complete a Direct Debit Instruction, the Business Rates Team may agree to collect the balance payable by direct debit, reinstate the monthly instalment facility and 'withdraw' the final notice.
If the final notice is not paid or the direct debit option is not agreed at this stage, the next document issued is a Magistrates' Court summons. The summons is prepared and sent by the Business Rates Team on behalf of the Court; it will show the name of the court, together with the date and time of the hearing.
The ratepayer does not have to attend the hearing for a liability order to be made as the case can be dealt with in their absence.
Where it is accepted that the unpaid rates are payable but it is not possible to pay the full amount before the court hearing date, it may be possible to agree a special payment arrangement. Any such special arrangement will be subject to the liability order, including costs, being obtained by the council, however, no enforcement action will be taken under the liability order provided the special arrangement is maintained.
Unless the summons is fully paid before the day of the court hearing, or one of the few valid legal defences as to why payment has not been made applies, a liability order will be granted by the Magistrates, including costs payable to the council.
A liability order for unpaid business rates gives the council several powers to enforce payment. The most commonly used method is the use of bailiffs to remove goods belonging to the business rate payer which are then sold at public auction to clear the debt, unless payment is received beforehand.
If bailiffs cannot find any or sufficient goods to remove and sell, the council may consider applying to the Magistrates' Court for a sole trader's committal to prison for up to 3 months, due to non-payment. Committal to prison action cannot be taken against limited companies but they run the risk of the Council applying to the Official Receiver for the company to be placed into liquidation.
Previous years bill
If a bill is issued in respect of a previous financial year there is usually only one instalment payment date and this must be at least 14 days after the bill issue date. If full payment is not received on or before the due date, a reminder notice is issued showing the overdue amount and requiring payment of that sum within 7 days.
The reminder notice advises that failure to pay the full amount may lead to legal proceedings in the Magistrates' Court for a liability order, including legal costs, to be made. At this stage, if the ratepayer takes the opportunity to complete a Direct Debit Instruction, the Business Rates Team may agree to collect the balance payable by direct debit and 'withdraw' the reminder notice.
If the reminder notice is not paid or the direct debit option is not agreed at this stage, the next document issued will be a Magistrates' Court summons. The process from here mirrors that for the current year bill.
We are happy to provide advice on business rates matters and, where relevant, one of our inspector/visiting officers can arrange a site visit.
Having difficulties paying your business rates?
We try to balance our duty to collect business rates on behalf of the Welsh Government, with a sympathetic approach.
In exceptional circumstances, we may agree special payment arrangements, over and above the statutory instalment scheme, for businesses struggling to pay their business rates. Please contact us as early as possible to maximise the amount of help we can give you.