Fees (From 1 June 2018)

Fees for services

Bankruptcy fees regulations

Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) charges for the services it provides, as outlined by the Bankruptcy Fees (Scotland) Regulations. The levels of fees and charges for our services are reviewed annually. The Bankruptcy Fees etc. (Scotland) Regulations 2018 (link is external) set out the fees involved in administering personal insolvencies in Scotland in accordance with AiB’s functions. AiB is committed to ensuring transparency in introducing these changes.

Agency funding

In line with the Scottish Public Finance Manual Accountant in Bankruptcy has been working to reduce funding from the Scottish Government by moving towards the delivery of full cost recovery. A fees system which reflects the costs of delivering our services allows the Agency to reduce its reliance on funding from the public purse.

The graph below shows a continued trend of lowering our funding requirements from the public purse since 2007/08. This has been achieved through cost reductions from value for money contracts, process efficiencies as well as fee amendments to ensure the cost of service delivery is covered where possible.

These figures have been taken from AiB’s annual accounts and are expressed in nominal monetary terms (i.e. they have not been converted into real terms).

Debtor application fee

The debtor application fee for full administration applications is £200 which reflects the cost of processing the application. There has been no increase in this fee from the 2014 regulations. The Minimal Asset Process (MAP) has a much lower debtor application fee of £90. This reduced fee reflects the lower administration costs incurred by AiB in processing these types of debtor application in comparison to full administration bankruptcies.

There is provision to pay the debtor application fee in smaller installments and more details on this can be found in the Debtor Application Pack and by completing the Notice to pay by installments form. The application will not be processed until full payment has been made.

For comparison the fee rate for determining a debtor application for full administration In Scotland remains significantly lower than fees for the same service elsewhere in the UK:

*The above fees for England & Wales and Northern Ireland were correct as of 1 April 2014.

Creditor petition fee

The creditor petition fee has changed but AiB’s fee still remains significantly lower than elsewhere in the UK:

*The above fees for England & Wales and Northern Ireland were correct as of 1 April 2014.

Exercise of functions as interim trustee

When appointed as interim trustee AiB charges a flat rate of £300 per case.

Exercise of functions as trustee

When appointed as permanent trustee the Agency charges a flat rate of £1,700 per case. This fee allows the Agency to recover the costs of case administration from funds ingathered into the case, where sufficient funds exist. The costs recovered through this fee incorporate any fees that AiB may be charged for external trustees to perform trustee functions on behalf of AiB. This fee compares to an up-front administrator’s fixed fee for England and Wales of £1,850 with additional fees taken from funds ingathered.

Supervising proceedings in sequestration

The fee for the supervision of insolvency practitioners as trustee in sequestration is a single annual fee as listed below:

Fees introduced by 2014 fees order
The fees introduced by The Bankruptcy Fees etc. (Scotland) Regulations 2014 remain unchanged by the 2018 fees order. They are as follows:
 

*The 2014 fees order applies only to sequestrations or trust deeds where the petition was presented or debtor application was made on or after 1st April 2015 with the exception of these fees highlighted above which will apply to all cases.

Discharge certificate

A discharge certificate is provided free of charge.