Covid-19 Additional Relief Fund (CARF)
CARF is for businesses who have been affected by Covid-19 but have not so far been eligible for any of the other business rates relief given to retail, hospitality, leisure and childcare nurseries.
Fenland District Council has been allocated a total pot of £1.9million for the scheme.
Eligible businesses will receive relief in the form of credit to their business rate liability.
Eligibility
To be eligible for CARF rates relief, your business must have:
- been in the rating list (rated and liable for business rates) and 'occupied' for a period of time between 1 April 2021 and the date of making an application for the relief. The exception to this is if the business did not need to be physically occupying the property when it was closed due to Covid-19 restrictions
- had a business rates liability for the financial year 2021-22. Where a business' rates bill was zero (e.g. if a business received the full Small Business Rate Relief) it will be ineligible for CARF
- been adversely affected by the pandemic and have been unable to adequately adapt to that impact
Businesses are not eligible if:
- during 2021-22 they were eligible for the Extended Retail Discount (covering Retail, Hospitality and Leisure), the Nursery Discount or full Small Business Rates relief
- they were in liquidation, dissolved, in administration, insolvent or subject to, or under notice of, a striking-off notice on 1 February 2022
- they are a local authority, or other precepting authority (e.g. a parish or county council) or a functional body, within the meaning of the Greater London Authority Act 1999
- by receiving a relief under CARF, they will exceed subsidy thresholds.
Read the full eligibility criteria.
How to apply
The CARF scheme is being administered by Anglia Revenues Partnership on our behalf. To claim this relief, visit their website to complete an online application form. You will be asked to confirm whether you meet the eligibility criteria and that in accepting the relief you will not be exceeding the subsidy limits that apply.
