Guidance: local authority portal
Billing authorities can use the local authority portal to:
- submit billing authority reports for Council Tax properties
- add supporting information to submitted reports
- download Council Tax schedules and find out when new ones are published
Submitting billing authority reports to the Valuation Office Agency
Changes to Council Tax properties are reported to the VOA through billing authority reports. These should include details of the property, the change that is being requested, and the reason for making the change.
The local authority portal can be used to:
- create a single billing authority report using an online form
- upload multiple reports using either an Excel or XML file
Creating a single report
You will be asked what kind of change you want to make, followed by a series of questions where you manually enter the information required for the report.
The report will be submitted to the VOA after all questions have been answered.
Uploading multiple reports
Select ‘Upload multiple reports’ on the local authority dashboard to submit multiple reports to the VOA at once.
You will be asked to upload either an XML file or an Excel file containing all the information the VOA requires to process reports.
XML files can be exported from your billing authority’s software, or you can use our Excel templates.
There is a file size limit of 10MB per Excel or XML document.
Reports will be added to the portal once the file has been checked to make sure it contains all the information required by the Valuation Office Agency. This will usually happen within 24 hours, but may take up to 48 hours.
Fixing errors in uploaded files
The service will say if there are data errors after you have uploaded a file. It will say what they are, and how to fix them.
It usually means that required data has been left out, entered incorrectly, or does not meet format requirements.
You can find out if any of the reports that have been submitted through an XML or Excel file contain errors by selecting ‘Fix upload errors’ on the dashboard.
The service will also check the file itself. If the file is corrupted or contains viruses, you will be asked to delete the file, fix it and try uploading it again.
If you receive a file error, you can try:
- deleting the file and reuploading it
- download the Excel template again, if you are using it, then add your reports and reupload
- export the XML file from your system again, then reupload
- speak with your local IT team and ask them to check for viruses, corruption, or other issues
If issues continue, contact the Valuation Office Agency.
What to include in the ‘Remarks’ field
Further information that supports the change that is being requested is required for each report. This is known as ‘Remarks’.
There are corresponding fields within the Excel templates or your XML file for remarks, and there is a box that you can enter them in if you upload reports using the online form.
What you should include as remarks depends on the reason code you enter for that report.
Adding supporting documents
After reports have been submitted to the VOA, they become ‘In progress reports’. This means they are waiting for the VOA to process them before adding to the schedules.
Most in progress reports require supporting information to be processed by the VOA. Supporting information includes documents that support the reason the change has been requested.
Supporting information might include:
- an inspector’s report
- photos
- planning documents
They can be added by selecting ‘Submitted reports’ on the dashboard. This shows all reports that are currently in progress from you billing authority. Select ‘Add supporting documents’ to add files to a report.
The VOA can take up to 90 days from receiving the report to decide whether to add it to the schedules or not. The decision is made based on the information provided in the report and the supporting information you upload to the service.
Downloading schedules
Once reports have been processed and accepted by the VOA they will be added to the schedules. You can choose ‘Download schedules’ on the dashboard to search for and save them.
Get help using the service
Telephone
< phone number >
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
< email address >
We aim to respond within 5 working days
If you need to contact the VOA about a specific report, include the billing authority report number in any emails you send.
Feedback
Send your comments and feedback to the VOA using the feedback form.