Adam v Listing Officer

A listing officer may correct a council tax valuation band prospectively where satisfied that a different band should previously have been determined. The regulations do not require an express admission that an earlier mistake occurred. The decision must be based on evidence and made in accordance with the statutory valuation scheme. Comparable properties may provide evidence for valuing an individual dwelling, including one near the boundary between valuation bands. Concepts such as issue estoppel and general fairness do not displace the statutory regime. An alteration correcting a historical error may take effect only prospectively.

The claimant appealed on a point of law against the decision of the Valuation Tribunal for England dated 2 July 2013. The Tribunal had upheld the Listing Officer’s decision to increase the council tax band of the claimant’s property from Band B to Band C with effect from 29 July 2012.

The property had originally been entered in Band C, was reduced to Band B in 2008, and was later reassessed without any change to its physical circumstances. The central issue was whether the Listing Officer could alter the agreed banding prospectively on the basis that the earlier band had been mistaken.

1. Appeal dismissed. The Tribunal had made no error of law, and the Listing Officer had acted within the regulatory scheme. There was no order for costs.
2. Under section 22 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, the Listing Officer must compile and maintain an accurate valuation list. The valuation must nevertheless be undertaken in accordance with the statutory scheme. Comparable properties may provide legitimate evidence when determining the band of an individual dwelling, including a dwelling near the borderline between two bands.
3. The valuation principles were explained in Chilton-Merryweather v Hunt [2008] EWCA Civ 1025. Council tax bands are determined by reference to the statutory valuation assumptions, including the prescribed valuation date and the relevant physical characteristics of the dwelling and locality.
4. Paragraph 3(1)(b)(i) of the Council Tax (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) England Regulations 2009 permits alteration where the Listing Officer is satisfied that a different valuation band should have been determined. The past-tense wording permits correction of an earlier error or mistake. It does not require an express confession or other formal acknowledgment of the original error.
5. The alteration may operate prospectively, but not retrospectively. Issue estoppel and broad notions of fairness do not prevent the statutory correction. The decision must not be capricious and must be supported by evidence. The Listing Officer and Tribunal were entitled to conclude that the property belonged in Band C, notwithstanding the earlier reduction to Band B.

• High Court (Administrative Court): The appeal on a point of law was dismissed. The court upheld the Valuation Tribunal for England’s decision of 2 July 2013.
• Valuation Tribunal for England: The appeal against the Listing Officer’s prospective increase from Band B to Band C was dismissed.