Leaders of two of Scotland's key economic sectors have hit out at the Scottish Government for inconsistency in its approach to industry consultation prior to the introduction of new taxes.

The criticism from the trade bodies of the retail and property industries follows a pledge from Energy Minister Fergus Ewing that the SNP would, in an independent Scotland, set up a standing committee with the oil and gas industry to discuss proposed tax changes before they are introduced.

The promise was made on Wednesday in Aberdeen at a breakfast organised by industry body Oil & Gas UK during which Ewing hinted that oil and gas firms could be in line for new tax breaks if Scotland becomes independent.

Director of the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC), David Lonsdale, said he welcomed the Government's new-found commitment to consultation before changing business taxes, but urged that the principle be extended to all sectors of the economy.

Meanwhile, David Melhuish of the commercial property group Scottish Property Federation (SPF) said his sector had suffered from minimal consultation before the imposition of tax changes.

He said that the Government should have consulted with businesses before introducing a number of new business taxes in recent years.

"Discussing with industry any potential tax changes before they are introduced is a good idea and is a principle we would support," he said.

"However, our politicians need to be much more ambitious than simply limiting it to taxes affecting the oil and gas sector."

Lonsdale cited the "ad hoc" introduction in 2012 of a special levy on large retailers that sell both alcohol and tobacco. The levy - which has been condemned by the SRC as an "unprecedented and iniquitous tax" that put Scotland at a competitive disadvantage - was introduced without consultation with the retail industry and without a regulatory impact assessment, he said.

The hike - expected to raise £95 million in the three years to 2015 - means that larger retailers such as supermarkets now have to pay 60p in the pound on the rateable value of their premises rather than the previous 48p. This means that business rates for larger stores in Scotland are now 28% higher than similar-sized stores in England.

Supporters of the additional levy - which is imposed on around 240 stores in Scotland with a rateable value of more than £300,000 - had argued that it made larger out-of-town supermarkets contribute to the social and health costs of alcohol and tobacco use, and made smaller town centre stores more competitive.

In January, Finance Minister John Swinney said that he would not renew or replace the "public health supplement" when it expires in early 2015, saying that he had never intended the tax to become permanent.

Meanwhile, the SPF's Melhuish criticised a cut in rates relief on empty commercial premises introduced by the SNP administration last year following "minimal" consultation with the business community. He said the move was a major disincentive to investors in speculative commercial construction. He said: "Construction projects are already capital intensive as it is. If you introduce the prospect of developers having to pay 90% of rates if the building is empty after completion it would be a deterrent to many investors."

The relief cut, which raises an additional £18m for the Government each year, has seen business rates on empty offices, shops and other business properties rise from 50% rise to 90% of the full business rates.

The controversial measure - set to be reviewed at the end of 2015 - has been justified by the Government as helping to regenerate Scotland's high streets and reducing the blight of empty properties. But when relief on empty commercial premises was abolished in England and Wales in 2008, it led to the unintended consequence of some businesses and local authorities demolishing empty buildings rather than having to pay full rates.

The Scottish Government claimed that empty property relief in Scotland is "significantly more generous" than south of the Border.

Its spokeswoman said: "Scotland offers the most competitive business rates in the UK with over half of all Scottish commercial premises benefiting from zero or reduced business rates as part the most competitive rates package in the UK, which this year alone will reduce the tax paid as business rates by an estimated £590m.

"Both the public health supplement and reforms to empty property relief to incentivise empty properties back into use were consulted upon as part of the draft budget process for the 2011 spending review."