The Non-Domestic Rates (Enterprise Areas) (Scotland) Regulations 2012

Made: 16th February 2012

Laid before the Scottish Parliament: 20th February 2012

Coming into force: 1st April 2012

The Scottish Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 153 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994[^f00001] and all other powers enabling them to do so.

Citation and commencement

1

These Regulations may be cited as the Non-Domestic Rates (Enterprise Areas) (Scotland) Regulations 2012 and come into force on 1stApril 2012.

Interpretation

2

• (1) In these Regulations—

• “the 1975 Act” means the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1975[^f00002];

• “the General Manufacturing and Growth Sectors Enterprise Area” means the area comprised of the following sites— the area delineated in red on the map entitled “General Manufacturing and Growth Sectors Enterprise Area - Creative Clyde” and dated 9th February 2012; and the area delineated in red on the map entitled “General Manufacturing and Growth Sectors Enterprise Area - Prestwick International” and dated 8th February 2012;

• “lands and heritages” has the meaning prescribed by and under section 42 of the Lands Valuation (Scotland) Act 1854[^f00003];

• “the Life Sciences Enterprise Area” means the area comprised of the following sites— the area delineated in red on the map entitled “Life Sciences Enterprise Area – Irvine – BRD” and dated 13th February 2012; the area delineated in red on the map entitled “Life Sciences Enterprise Area – Forres” and dated 8th February 2012; the area delineated in red on the map entitled “Life Sciences Enterprise Area – Inverness Campus” and dated 8th February 2012; the area delineated in red on the map entitled “Life Sciences Enterprise Area – BioQuarter” and dated 9th February 2012; and the area delineated in red on the map entitled “Life Sciences Enterprise Area – BioCampus” and dated 9th February 2012;

• “the Low Carbon/Renewables East Enterprise Area” means the area delineated in red on the map entitled “Low Carbon/Renewables East Enterprise Area - Leith, Edinburgh” and dated 9th February 2012;

• “the Low Carbon/Renewables North Enterprise Area” means the area comprised of the following sites— the area delineated in red on the map entitled “Low Carbon/Renewables North Enterprise Area – Hatston” and dated 8th February 2012; the area delineated in red on the map entitled “Low Carbon/Renewables North Enterprise Area - Arnish” and dated 9th February 2012; the area delineated in red on the map entitled “Low Carbon/Renewables North Enterprise Area - Scrabster” and dated 8th February 2012; and the area delineated in red on the map entitled “Low Carbon/Renewables North Enterprise Area – Lyness” and dated 9th February 2012;

• “rateable value” means the rateable value entered in the valuation roll for that date in respect of the applicable lands and heritages and includes a rateable value so entered with retrospective effect;

• “rates” means non-domestic rates levied under section 7B of the 1975 Act[^f00004]; and

• “valuation roll” means the roll made up under section 1 of the 1975 Act[^f00005].

• (2) In this regulation a reference to a map is a reference to the map with that title and date deposited at the Scottish Government Business Directorate.

Lands and heritages in enterprise areas

3

Regulation5(1) applies in the circumstances set out in regulation 4 to a person who is liable to pay rates on a day in the period of 12 months beginning with 1stApril 2012 where that person occupies lands and heritages in—

• (a) the General Manufacturing and Growth Sectors Enterprise Area;

• (b) the Life Sciences Enterprise Area;

• (c) the Low Carbon/Renewables East Enterprise Area; or

• (d) the Low Carbon/Renewables North Enterprise Area.

for the sole or main purpose of carrying on an activity listed in that part of the Schedule relating to that Enterprise Area or, in the case of the General Manufacturing and Growth Sectors Enterprise Area, to a site within that Enterprise Area.

Availability of relief

4

The circumstances referred to in regulation 3 are that—

• (a)

• (i) a new entry in respect of the lands and heritages is made in the valuation roll after 1stApril 2012; or

• (ii) the lands and heritages have been unoccupied for a continuous period of 3 months before the person seeking relief took occupation for the purpose of carrying out the activity referred to in regulation 3; and

• (b) an application for relief is made in accordance with regulation 6.

Relief granted

5

• (1) Subject to paragraph (3), where the rateable value of lands and heritages falls within one of the ranges specified in the column headed “Rateable value” in the table below, the amount of rates payable is to be reduced by the percentage specified in the corresponding entry in the column headed “Percentage of rates relief”.

• (2) The amount of rate relief calculated under paragraph (1) is to be applied before the calculation of any other relief.

• (3) The rate relief granted by paragraph (1) is to be made only to the extent that the relief granted is compatible with article 107(1) of the Consolidated Version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union[^f00006].

Applications for relief

6

• (1) An application for relief under these Regulations must be signed by the ratepayer or a person authorised to sign on behalf of the ratepayer.

• (2) An application under paragraph (1) is to be made to the local authority by—

• (a) addressing it to the authority; and

• (b) delivering it or sending it to the authority’s office by post or electronic communication.

• (3) In this regulation—

• (a) “electronic communication” has the meaning given to it by section 15(1) of the Electronic Communications Act 2000 (“the 2000 Act”)[^f00007];

• (b) “local authority” means the rating authority in whose valuation roll the entry for the lands and heritages appears;

• (c) “person authorised to sign on behalf of the ratepayer” means, where the ratepayer is—

• (i) a partnership, a partner of that partnership;

• (ii) a trust, a trustee of that trust;

• (iii) a body corporate, a director of that body; and

• (d) “sign” or “signed”, in relation to an application made by electronic communication means an electronic signature, as defined in section 7(2) of the 2000 Act.

Exemptions and discretionary reductions and remissions

7

Nothing in these Regulations is to—

• (a) require rates to be paid in respect of lands and heritages for any day where those lands and heritages are under any enactment entirely exempt from rates for that day; or

• (b) prejudice any power of a rating authority to grant a reduction or remission of rates under section 4(5) of the Local Government (Financial Provisions etc.) (Scotland) Act 1962[^f00008], section 25A of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1966[^f00009] or paragraph 4 of Schedule2 to the Local Government and Rating Act 1997[^f00010].

SCHEDULE

PART 1 — ACTIVITIES GIVING RISE TO ELIGIBILITY FOR BUSINESS RATES RELIEF IN THE LIFE SCIENCES ENTERPRISE AREA

• Bioinformatics and health informatics

• Deployment of information and communications technology to persons engaged in hospital, medical, dental, residential care and other human health activities

• Drug development

• Experimental and translational medicine and clinical research

• Industrial biotechnology

• Manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products

• Manufacture of electronic components and boards

• Manufacture of instruments and appliances for measuring, testing and navigation

• Manufacture of irradiation, electromedical and electrotherapeutic equipment

• Manufacture of medical and dental instruments and supplies

• Manufacture of optical instruments and photographic equipment

• Manufacture of pesticides and other agrochemical products

• Manufacture of pharmaceutical preparations

• Medical technologies

• Pharmaceutical services, including contract research

• Research and development into, and the manufacture of, medical devices and pharmaceuticals

• Research and experimental development on natural sciences and engineering

• Stem cells and regenerative medicine

• Veterinary medicine

• Wholesale of pharmaceutical goods

PART 2 — ACTIVITIES GIVING RISE TO ELIGIBILITY FOR BUSINESS RATES RELIEF IN THE LOW CARBON/RENEWABLES EAST ENTERPRISE AREA AND THE LOW CARBON/RENEWABLES NORTH ENTERPRISE AREA

• The design, fabrication, manufacture and assembly of components required for the generation of renewable energy by the technologies described in Schedule 2 of the Renewables Obligation (Scotland) Order 2009[^f00011], including foundations and substructures (fixed or floating), towers, blades and nacelles, and research and development connected to those activities.

PART 3 — ACTIVITIES GIVING RISE TO ELIGIBILITY FOR BUSINESS RATES RELIEF IN THE GENERAL MANUFACTURING AND GROWTH SECTORS ENTERPRISE AREA

Creative Clyde

• Motion picture, video and television programme production activities

• Motion picture, video and television programme post-production activities

• Motion picture, video and television programme distribution activities

• Motion picture projection activities

• Sound recording and music publishing activities

• Reproduction of sound recording

• Book publishing

• Publishing of directories and mailing lists

• Publishing of newspapers

• Publishing of journals and periodicals

• Software and electronic publishing

• Computer programming activities

• Business and domestic software development

• Digital and entertainment media

• Publishing of computer games

• Ready-made interactive leisure and entertainment software development

• Reproduction of computer media

• Radio broadcasting

• Television programming and broadcasting activities

• Television programme production activities

Prestwick International

• Manufacture of aircraft and spacecraft and related machinery

• Repair and maintenance of aircraft and spacecraft

Signed

JOHN SWINNEY — A member of the Scottish Executive — 16th February 2012

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations provide relief for business rates in four enterprise areas.

Regulations 3 and 4 provides that business rates relief is available in those areas for new businesses carrying out an activity listed in the relevant part of the Schedule. It is also available for businesses set up in vacant premises if they carry out one of the listed activities.

Regulation 5 sets out a sliding scale of the amount of relief available.

Regulation 6 deals with applications for business rates relief.

No business and regulatory impact assessment has been prepared for these Regulations as no adverse impact upon business, charities or voluntary bodies is foreseen.

Copies of the maps of the sites within the Enterprise Areas are available for inspection at the Scottish Government Business Directorate, Enterprise and Tourism Division, 5 Atlantic Quay, 150Broomielaw, Glasgow, G28LU.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1994 c.39. Section 153 was amended by section 67 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 (asp 12). The functions of the Secretary of State were transferred to the Scottish Ministers by virtue of section 53 of the Scotland Act 1998 (c.46).

[^f00002]: 1975 c.30.

[^f00003]: 1854 c.91. Section 42 was amended by section 152 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994.

[^f00004]: Section 7B was inserted by section 110(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (c.14) and amended by paragraph100(4) of Schedule 13 to the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994.

[^f00005]: Section 1 was repealed in part by Schedule 14 to the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 and Schedule 4 to the Local Government and Rating Act 1997 (c.29).

[^f00006]: O.J.No c.83, 30.3.2010, p.47.

[^f00007]: 2000 c.7. Section 15(1) was amended by paragraph 158 of Schedule 17 to the Communications Act 2003 (c.21).

[^f00008]: 1962 c.9. Section 4(5) was amended by paragraph 57 of Schedule 13 to the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, paragraph 2(a) of Schedule 3 to the Local Government and Rating Act 1997 and section 98(3) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 (asp 10).

[^f00009]: 1966 c.51. Section 25A was inserted by section 156 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994.

[^f00010]: 1997 c.29. Paragraph 4 was amended by section 28 of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 (asp 1).

[^f00011]: S.S.I.2009/140. Schedule 2 was amended by S.S.I.2009/276, S.S.I.2010/147 and S.S.I.2011/225.