The new non-domestic rating system became known as business rates, or sometimes the universal business rate. It retained from its predecessors the concept of a series of local rating lists, with each property being assessed for a rateable value based on rental values. Rating lists were prepared and maintained by the Valuation Office (reconstituted in 1991 as a UK Government executive agency, the Valuation Office Agency), while billing and collection was the responsibility of local authorities. Previously, local authorities had decided what proportion of rateable values to charge; the new system featured a centrally set multiplier, often referred to as the Uniform Business Rate, by which the basic bill was calculated. The bill could be further modified by various reliefs, including the newly introduced transitional relief, which was designed to smooth large changes in liability due to revaluations. The multiplier was calculated to ensure that, on average, bills rose by no more than the rate of inflation.