Notes for Guidance - Protected Trust Deeds - Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016

The trustee should prepare, at intervals of not more than 12 months from the date on which the trust deed was granted, the trust deed accounts and send these, no later than six weeks after the end of each accounting interval, to:

• the debtor
• each known creditor
• AiB

At the same intervals, the trustee must send to the AiB, the debtor and each creditor, a report in Form 4 to the Schedule to the Protected Trust Deeds (Forms) (Scotland) Regulations 2016. Section 181 of the Act refers.

The trustee is required to make Statements on Form 4 to confirm the position to creditors regarding interim dividends and the expected final dividend.

If the expected final dividend figure has varied at any time to less than 80% of the final dividend figure that was first declared to creditors and to AiB using Form 3, the trustee must provide, using Form 4, the full reasons for this drop and all the options that the trustee has for finalising the PTD, with their recommended course of actions.

Creditors are invited to approve the trustee’s recommended course of action. 

If, after 21 days of issue of Form 4, the trustee does not receive objections to their recommended course of action, from either a majority in number of the creditors, or not less than one third in value of creditors, then it is assumed that creditors have consented to the recommended action and the trustee may proceed with this action. If objections are received from a majority of creditors in number or one third or more in value, the trustee may consider applying to the AiB or a sheriff for a direction – section 179 and 189 refers.

ASTRA should be updated following the 21 days to advise AiB of the outcome.

A supervision fee of £120 is payable by the trustee to the Accountant in Bankruptcy for each 12-month period of the PTD or part thereof, beginning on the date of registration of the PTD and ending on the discharge of the trustee. In practice, this means that the full £120 remains payable for any part-year for which the trust deed subsists, before the trustee is discharged. If the trustee is discharged from office and the debtor is not discharged from their obligations, the final supervision fee will be waived and no invoice raised.

AiB will issue an invoice for the fee after each 12 month period from the date the trust deed becomes protected, to allow trustees time to ingather sufficient funds.

The supervision fee is payable by the trustee for all PTDs, regardless of whether sufficient funds have been in-gathered when the fee becomes due.

AiB will monitor receipt of the accounts, Form 4s and the supervision fee and monitor the information provided on the Form 4 annually. The trustee will receive a reminder, via the AiB Web Portal, or by email or post, if the accounts and a Form 4 are not received within the six week period after the due date.

Regular failure by a trustee to submit accounts or Form 4’s to the appropriate people within the specified timescales may result in the Accountant reporting the matter to a sheriff and/or the trustee’s recognised professional body (RPB) through the Insolvency Service Complaints Gateway.