Newbie to site , veteran to testing

Also signed. Let's hope it does some good.
One more thing though, and something of a pet hate of mine, if and when we all get back to normal testing are they then going to slap us with "Oh and by the way you all need to "upgrade" to connected equipment in three months. Even if you're not starting a new business, or even if you've closed down but but can find a mug (I mean buyer!) to restart."?
And what if all this pushes, let's say, Halfords into liquidation? Yes I know it might put the average roadworthiness of cars up but who is going to be able to take up the slack in testing?
OK, I was joking about Halfords quality standards, mostly.

I must say the thought of a cold pint of Thatchers Gold in a beer garden used to be the carrot at the end of the stick after a 12 test day. Missing that and the tea time crowd.

Regarding connected RTB's, Have had ours 2 weeks now but not connected still due to no connect code. DVSA staff at home, at least we are still testing.

***Update***

Response from government blames the problem on the local councils who are administrating the grants. They say that our business is indeed retail, and should be paid. But the council does not agree, so wont pay out the grant.
Council blames the government, stating that despite Testing Stations being on the list of "key retail businesses that are requested to remain open to assist key workers", we have subsequently been removed from the list of qualifying retail businesses for the grant.

We know that the grant has been paid to stations in other areas, so our trade body are now taking the legal precedent route and have sought legal advice. Apparently the councils are sticking to loose "guidelines" rather than what the law actually is. So it would seem that the fight is not yet lost.

If anyone has knowledge of Stations that have received the 25k grant, and what areas they are in, would be helpful in getting this resolved for us all.

You on there baz657 ? Stand up & identify yourself 👍

PM me your ID if you wish.

Garages/MOT Stations are eligible for the £10k grant that pay little to no rates. £25k grant is for shops etc that pay rates.

The grant is based on what you pay in rates aaboy

By definition the retail sector in the UK is: shops, department stores, supermarkets, market stalls, door-to-door sales people and internet retailers.

MOT Stations/garages aren't considered as retail. We are all entitled to the £10k grant. Those that have been awarded the £25k grant could find they will owe money back mate. It's all up in the air a bit with local authorities working from home when processing cash grant claims etc and the lack of detailed information LA's received in defining who gets what.

MOT Testing isn't retail, it's a mandatory requirement hence them being zero rated for VAT. As for the rest of garage work, is it a service provided for a fee or an item sold for final use by the customer?

When the application is made we have to select which grant to apply for. They may well have been paid, whether they were entitled to the higher grant will be looked into when they start recouping the money at a later date for sure....

A business rateable value is based on desirability to rent and is set by the VOA. A big site doesn't always mean you pay more. A site that could easily be rented out will pay a higher rate usually.

Every small business should apply for SBRR as a rule

Info here on defining the retail sector businesses

Bold text are links

Edited to add:

The £25k cash grant is actually for retail, leisure and hospitality. We don't fall into the definition. No one can claim both grants and the £10k grant can only be claimed by single site owners. Other schemes like VAT payment deferral and furlough etc are for larger multi site owners

Unfortunately the dictionary don't pay the grant. Use the link provided to read the definition as per Government guidance for what they define as retail wally. They do pay it and they will check every business who got one too in time...

Our trade is classed as Industrial not Retail wally.

The IGA has been lobbying Parliament in an effort to have our trade reclassified so we receive Retail benefits.

Read the article here mate IGA

First of all - If your rateble value is over £15k then you can not apply for the £10k SBRR grant, so when you said "We are all entitled to the £10k grant" - we are not.

Secondly "Any business in our trade who applied for the £25k cash grant actually applied for the wrong grant". What other option is there if your rates are over £15k?

I have read through the links provided but I can not find any information saying garages are not retail, but in one government document that showed which retail businesses had to close it listed garages as being exempt from closure in order to keep the traffic infratructure moving.