The Court of Session Consignation (Scotland) Act 1895 made the Accountant of Court custodian for all consigned funds for the Court of Session. The Accountant of Court is also responsible for holding unclaimed dividends and unapplied balances lodged relative to liquidation/administration proceedings, dissenting shareholders and judicial factories.
Circumstances where funds may require to be consigned:
• By direction of an interlocutor of the Court of Session,
• By Liquidator of a dissolved company re unclaimed dividends & balances,
• Funds due to dissenting shareholders,
• By a Judicial Factor in respect of unapplied balances,
• At the discretion of the Accountant of Court.
How to consign Funds with the Accountant of Court
The consignation sum requires to be sent directly to the Accountant of Court, made payable to “the Accountant of Court” along with a copy of the relevant court interlocutor/Notice of Appointment, e.g. confirming the appointment of the liquidator/administrator, giving authority to consign funds. (Please note: The Bank will not open a special deposit account in the name of the Accountant of Court without this documentation). Should you wish sent the sum by BACS please contact us for the relevant account information.
The person or firm consigning the funds should also provide:
(1) A copy of the relevant court interlocutor/notice of appointment.
(2) A beneficiary list (if applicable) detailing their name, most recent known address and amount due to each person/company.
(3) A cheque for the statutory fee (currently £36) made payable to “Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service” can be made. (It should be noted that the Accountant of Court will ONLY process the fee once the Bank has confirmed the deposit). If you wish to settle our statutory fee by BACS, please contact us for the relevant account details.
* Please note - If the statutory fee is to be deducted from the total sum consigned the Accountant of Court we will require a beneficiary list which clearly shows how the fee has been apportioned between each party.
The bank will issue an opening statement to the Accountant of Court. If the consignation relates to a court interlocutor the Accountant of Court will advise the Deputy Principal Clerk of Session that the funds have been lodged.
Interest on Funds Lodged
Nominal Interest is earned on the sum consigned. Please note that interest rates are subject to change. The Accountant will calculate the amount of interest due to each party.
Upliftment of Funds
Where the funds have been consigned by a Liquidator or Judicial Factor the funds may be released to a beneficiary (or someone mandated to act on their behalf) under deduction of the applicable statutory upliftment fee on written application to the Accountant of Court. If the entitled party is deceased the amount due may be paid to the executor on production of the Confirmation.
Upliftment of Funds by Court Process
Where the funds have been lodged in compliance with a direction of the court an application to the court for release of all or part of the funds (including interest if applicable) should be made by motion. The interlocutor should state clearly to whom the funds should be released and whether interest is to be included. On production of a certified copy interlocutor the Accountant of Court will uplift the funds from the bank and issue a cheque to the party named in the interlocutor (or someone mandated to act on their behalf) under deduction of the applicable statutory upliftment fee. Please see the Table of Fees below.
Tax Clearance Certificates - Where do I find one?
If the Court of Session require a tax clearance certificate, certificates should be requested from the Inland Revenue before the interlocutor authorising upliftment of the funds is issued. (8.1 of the rules of the Court of Session 1994).
Please note that the Accountant of Court does not issue tax clearance certificates. A Tax Clearance Certificate may be required by the Court of Session as part of the court process. In order to obtain a tax clearance certificate please fill in the request form and send to HMRC as noted on the righthand side of this page. The request form can be found in the quick links section on the righthand side of this page.
Fees payable from 01/04/2023 are:
Producing or delivering up consignation, based on consignation value —
(a) consignation value £0 - £50 and less than 7 years since lodged = No charge
(b) consignation value over £50 and less than 7 years since lodged = £36
(c) consignation value £0 - £70 and over 7 years since lodged = No charge
(d) consignation value over £70 and over 7 years since lodged = £58
The statutory tables can be found at: The Court of Session etc. Fees Order 2022 (legislation.gov.uk)