Supreme Court to rule on service in rating case
Judgment will be given on Monday 17 December in a significant case in relation to the service of documents, in which Westminster City Council is challenging a ruling that a completion notice handed to a receptionist was not properly served, and therefore did not trigger inclusion of a newly built office in the rating list.
Lady Hale, Lord Kerr, Lord Carnwath, Lord Lloyd-Jones and Lord Kitchin will give judgment on the validity of the service of the completion notice under Schedule 4A of the Local Government Finance Act 1988.
The case, which has flip-flopped through the appeals system, raises points about the practicalities of serving completion notices and the validity of electronic communications in such circumstances.
Judgment will be given on Monday 17 December in a significant case in relation to the service of documents, in which Westminster City Council is challenging a ruling that a completion notice handed to a receptionist was not properly served, and therefore did not trigger inclusion of a newly built office in the rating list.
Lady Hale, Lord Kerr, Lord Carnwath, Lord Lloyd-Jones and Lord Kitchin will give judgment on the validity of the service of the completion notice under Schedule 4A of the Local Government Finance Act 1988.
The case, which has flip-flopped through the appeals system, raises points about the practicalities of serving completion notices and the validity of electronic communications in such circumstances.
A completion notice is served by local authorities on the owners of properties to notify them that they consider the building to be finished and therefore eligible to be charged rates. They can be served up to three months before the property is finished.
Roger Cohen, partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, explained: “Completion notices are vital to councils with rates to bill and collect. The valid service of a notice is required to ensure that rates are paid on new and structurally altered buildings once they are complete.
“The Supreme Court has the opportunity to make a practical difference for councils by providing clear guidance as to what constitutes good service. Asset managers and rating surveyors will be hoping for clarity so that they can give owners the best advice.
“The task for the Supreme Court is to choose an approach that sets the bar at the right level, making the system fair to all.”
Throughout this dispute, UKI (Kingsway) Ltd – the owner of floors 3-6 of No 1 Kingsway, WC2 – has contested the validity of the notice, which specified a completion date of 1 June 2012.
But Westminster City Council, which issued the notice, says that it was valid because the receptionist, acting as “agent”, scanned the completion notice and e-mailed it to the owner.
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