Holyrood will have to pass new legislation after an error was discovered which means councils have had no legal basis to levy non-domestic rates on empty properties for more than two and a half years.

A Bill could be passed by MSPs as early as Thursday this week to correct the situation – if the timetable at Holyrood allows.

Public finance minister Ivan McKee said that Non-Domestic Rates (Liability for Unoccupied Properties) (Scotland) Bill would allow for non domestic rates to be charged on owners of unoccupied business properties – with this to be backdated to April 2023.

Ministers had intended that the Non Domestic Rates (Scotland) Act 2020 would give councils powers to charge rates on vacant non-domestic properties.

This repealed previous legislation which states no rates were paya

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