Scottish changes to trustee accounts process

IPA Insolvency Practitioner newsletter, February 2025

Changes are being made to the requirements of trustees when submitting accounts to the Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) in accordance with section 131 and 132 of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016 (The Act).

In accordance with section 131 (Distribution in respect of accounting periods), the trustee is required, if there are sufficient funds, to pay a dividend out of the estate in respect of each accounting period after making allowance for future contingencies.

If, however, the trustee is not ready to pay a dividend or considers it would not be cost effective to do so, the trustee may, with the consent of the commissioners or AiB, postpone the dividend payment until the next account period.

To assist the AiB in carrying out its functions under section 131(4) of The Act, the AiB will be introducing new operational processes to the submission of all bankruptcy accounts, which will be effective for all accounts submitted on or after 1 March 2025. Read full information here.