These Regulations provide for emergency rate relief in respect of specified hereditaments for the financial year ending before 1st April 2021. The relief is being provided in order to provide support to businesses as a result of the serious and imminent threat to public health from the virus known as Coronavirus or “Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2”, which causes the disease known as “COVID-19”.
The Department of Finance1 makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 31C of the Rates (Northern Ireland) Order 19772.