The business rate appeals system is facing a meltdown, with over 280,000 appeals currently outstanding. 22% of all appeals received since 2010 were between January and March 2015, as a direct consequence of the government extending the revaluation to 2017 and changing the rules for appeals received after March 31, 2015. Businesses warned the government that the large number of appeals were due to the five-yearly revaluation being pushed back, leaving companies paying bills that had been calculated based on outdated rental values.
With only about 90,000 appeals being dealt with by the VOA in any one year, this is bound to leave a large overhang of outstanding appeals at the revaluation date.