If the council have tried to use bailiffs, and you have still not paid your business rates in full, they may apply to the magistrates’ court for an order for you to be sent to prison (‘committal’).If you have not paid because you don’t have enough money, the court is not likely to send you to prison. The court would have to show either:
• you have deliberately refused to pay (known as ‘wilful refusal’); or
• you could afford to pay but did not (known as ‘culpable neglect’).
You must go to the hearing and show the court your business and household budget to explain why you have not been able to pay.Take along any evidence to show you have tried to pay what you could afford.
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