The UK charger industry has said it could face a £100m bill as the government considers forcing public charger operators to pay commercial rates for the first time, while EV sales slower than expected put pressure on the sector.
ChargeUK, the industry body, said it estimates operators will have to pay business rates for 64,000 parking spaces on top of the chargers, which are still not liable for tax. The lobby group said the change could add up to £300 to some people's annual bill if the cost is passed on to the customer.
In recent years, the number of public charging stations has increased dramatically to meet the needs of electric vehicles with a battery larger than 1 m on British roads. There were 86,000 public chargers at the end of September, up 18% from 73,000 at the end of 2024, according to data firm Zap Map.
Business rates are taxes paid on most commercial properties in the UK to fund local services, but charging sites have not yet been added to the lists of taxable properties. The Valuation Agency (VOA) has told the charger industry that this will change in April next year – meaning charger companies will have to pay tax for the first time.
Ian Johnston, chief executive of Osprey Charging, said his company would consider closing some sites and slowing investment due to the extra costs – particularly away from London, where electric vehicles are most plentiful.
“Large, powerful nodes in parts of the Midlands and north [of England] are more likely to be unprofitable because we are ahead of the curve in the adoption of electric vehicles,” he added.
ChargeUK said it believed the VOA's own assumptions of £25m for the sector were too low as it underestimated how many bays would be subject to tax, as well as the average rent paid.
To make matters worse for charger companies, the bill could be dated April 1, 2023, as VOA works out the final details of its review. This could mean the first bill for the current financial year could be more than double £100 million.
The Conservative government exempted charging equipment from business rates in 2022, but the parking spaces themselves were not included. VOA said that separate bays at larger charging stations and stand-alone electric vehicle charging stations would likely be added to the ranking lists because the operator typically has the exclusive right to occupy the spaces.
ChargeUK argues that the bays should also be exempt given the government's desire to promote the uptake of electric vehicles to meet its legal obligations to reduce polluting carbon emissions. The Treasury will have to exempt this sector from tax in budget for November 26.
after promoting the newsletter
Vicky Reed, chief executive of ChargeUK, said: “The price pressures facing the sector are severe and business rates threaten to be the straw that breaks the camel's back. We need government intervention to lift this unexpected burden, along with action to tackle sky-high standing charges.” [on electricity] And unfair VAT“
A VOA spokesman said it would work with charging companies and added: “We have a statutory duty to maintain rating lists outside the country. If any property meets the criteria under the law and the rating law, we must assess it and assign a chargeable value to it.”
The Ministry of Finance was approached for comment.
