Frequently asked questions
What is Appeals Direct for council tax?
Appeals Direct is a different system for appealing against your council tax banding. It does not change your right of appeal. Its main aims are:
- to allow you to decide whether you want to appeal to the valuation tribunal against the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) Listing Officer’s decision about your proposal;
- to make it clear that the valuation tribunals are independent and they are not connected to the VOA;
Up until 1 April 2008, you needed to make a proposal about your property’s council tax band to the Listing Officer (LO). If, within six months, they did not consider it or agree with it (and you did not withdraw it), your proposal was automatically transferred as an appeal to the relevant valuation tribunal.
Sometimes, council taxpayers told us that they were surprised and unhappy that their proposal had automatically become an appeal. Our customer surveys have also shown us that many people do not realise that the VOA and the valuation tribunals are not part of the same organisation. We want it to be clear that we are not connected, and that appellants can be sure that they will receive a fair hearing if they come to tribunal.
Our sponsoring department (Communities and Local Government) consulted people on a change to the system, and Parliament approved the changes to the regulations that allowed this. We introduced Appeals Direct on 1 April 2008.
Under Appeals Direct you still need to make a proposal to the Listing Officer (LO) but, within four months, they will have to make a decision about what you have asked them. They will send you a notice of their decision. If you are not happy with the decision, you have the right to appeal to us within three months of the date of the LO’s decision. We will send you an appeal form and guidance notes.
This system will also apply to any appeal against a LO’s Invalidity Notice, but you only have four weeks to appeal to a valuation tribunal.