The Rateable Value (RV) that has been allocated to your business property is not the same as the amount you pay. The RV is multiplied by a rate in the pound (44.40p for 2003/2004 and 45.60p for 2004/2005) to come to the full rates payable. (Although a complicated system of transitional arrangements mean that your bill may be higher or lower than the above calculation)

The rate multiplier is set annually by the Government and except in a revaluation year (or in the City of London), cannot by law rise by more than the amount of the increase in the retail price index each September. (Again if you have a transitional figure on your bill, this limit on the increase does not apply and the Government will state the increase.)

Transitional arrangements will phase in the effect of significant changes in liability, (both increases and decreases) which arise from the 2000 revaluation of non-domestic property. These arrangements will operate until March 2005 (when all non-domestic property will be revalued again). There are limits on the percentage by which bills may increase or decrease each year.