Views sought on scale of court costs

HMRC have published a discussion paper on the scale of costs in successful county court actions for debt in England and Wales.

The department said it received broad support when it consulted on the principle of seeking payment of costs from a debtor when it has received judgment in the civil courts. The taxman is now seeking an amendment to the Civil Procedure Rules to permit such costs to apply.

The new paper seeks for views on whether the proposed scale of costs (details of which appear in the document) is a proportionate response. The costs are linked to the amount of the debt, rather than being a percentage, and are approximately two-thirds of the amount that can be claimed by solicitors.

The Revenue says awarding fixed costs will enable it to recover part of the cost of operating the claims recovery system, and it may encourage payment of more debts before formal proceedings are initiated.

Comments should be sent by 23 September to Siobhan McEleavey, HMRC Tax Administration Advice Team, via email or post: 4SW Queens Dock, Liverpool L74 4AA.

Issue Extract

scale_costs_successful_court_actions_for_debt.pdf

Issue: 4263 / Categories: News , debt , discussion paper , Admin