The Scottish Tax Tribunals (Time Limits and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2015

Orders for expenses

10.—(1) The First-tier Tribunal may only make an order in respect of expenses—

(a) in relation to wasted expenses and expenses incurred in applying for such expenses;

(b) if the First-tier Tribunal considers that a party or their representative has acted unreasonably in bringing, defending or conducting the proceedings; or

(c) if—

(i) the proceedings have been allocated as a Complex case under rule 24 (allocation of cases to categories); and

(ii) the taxpayer (or, where more than one party is a taxpayer, one of them) has not sent or delivered a written request to the First-tier Tribunal, within 30 days of receiving notice that the case had been allocated as a Complex case, that the proceedings be excluded from potential liability for expenses under this sub-paragraph.

(2) The First-tier Tribunal may make an order under paragraph (1) on an application or on its own initiative.

(3) A person making an application for an order under paragraph (1) must—

(a) send or deliver a written application to the First-tier Tribunal and to the person against whom it is proposed that the order be made; and

(b) send or deliver with the application a schedule of the expenses claimed in sufficient detail to allow the First-tier Tribunal to undertake a summary assessment of such expenses if it decides to do so.

(4) An application for an order under paragraph (1) may be made at any time during the proceedings but may not be made later than 30 days after the date on which the First-tier Tribunal sends—

(a) a decision notice recording the decision which finally disposes of all issues in the proceedings; or

(b) notice under rule 17(2) of its receipt of a withdrawal which ends the proceedings.

(5) The First-tier Tribunal may not make an order under paragraph (1) against a person (the “paying person”) without first—

(a) giving that person an opportunity to make representations; and

(b) if the paying person is an individual, considering that person’s financial means.

(6) The amount of expenses to be paid under an order under this rule may be ascertained by—

(a) summary assessment by the First-tier Tribunal;

(b) agreement of a specified sum by the paying person and the person entitled to receive the expenses (the “receiving person”); or

(c) assessment of the whole or a specified part of the expenses, including the expenses of the assessment, incurred by the receiving person, if not agreed.

(7) Following an order for assessment under paragraph (6)(c)—

(a) the paying person or the receiving person may apply to the Auditor of the Court of Session (as specified in the order); or

(b) the First-tier Tribunal may make a remit to the Auditor of the Court of Session,

for the taxation of the expenses according to the fees payable in that Court.

(8) Upon making an order for the assessment of expenses, the First-tier Tribunal may order an amount to be paid on account before the expenses are assessed.

(9) In this rule—

“taxpayer” means a party who is liable to pay, or has paid, the tax, interest or penalty to which the proceedings relate or part of such tax, interest or penalty, or whose liability to do so is in issue in the proceedings; and

“wasted expenses” means any expenses incurred by a party—

(a)

as a result of any improper, unreasonable or negligent act or omission on the part of any representative or any employee of such a representative; or

(b)

which, in the light of any such act or omission occurring after they were incurred, the First-Tier Tribunal considers it is unreasonable to expect that party to pay.