Transitional relief is designed to prevent hikes or dramatic falls in a business's rates bill.
The concept is particularly important for small business this year because of the updating of the rating list. The VOA's previous valuation was based on the revaluation date of 1 April 1993. At this point in time, the property market was in deep depression and rents were very low. With the upswing in the property cycle in the late 1990s, the latest revaluation date of 1 April 1998 produces wide differences in rateable value as rents have increased dramatically. For the first time, the UBR was set at different rates in Wales and Scotland at 41.2p and 45.8p respectively.