The Sheriff Court Fees Amendment Order 2009

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Sheriff Court Fees Order 1997 (“the 1997 Order”) and the Sheriff Court Fees Amendment Order 2008 (“the 2008 Order”). This Order comes into force on 1st April 2009, except for article 2(7)(b) which comes into force on 6th April 2009.

Articles 2(1)–(6), (9), (10) amend the paragraph references contained in the 1997 Order that required to be updated as a result of the substitution of the Tables of Fees in the Schedule to the 1997 Order by the Table of Fees in Schedules 2 and 3 to the 2008 Order at the relevant dates.

Article 2(7)(b) amends the financial limit in article 7(g) of the 1997 Order in relation to the annual gross income taken into account for the calculation of the working tax credit for the purposes of exemption from court fees, increasing it from £16,017 to £16,642.

Article 2(7)(c) further amends article 7 of the 1997 Order by extending the available exemption from fees to those persons in receipt of income-related employment and support allowance. This amendment takes account of the coming into force of section 1 of the Welfare Reform Act 2007 which introduced this new benefit.

Article 2(8) reduces the fee, which was payable in respect of an inventory of the estate of a deceased person who is exempt from inheritance tax by virtue of section 154 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984, from £2 to nil.

Article 3 makes various amendments to the Tables of Fees in Schedule 2 to the 2008 Order. Articles 3(2) and (3) insert a fee for an application for an European order for payment and insert text under the summary cause heading to refer to the European small claim procedure. Articles 3(4), (5) and (7) make minor amendments to clarify the charging of fees, respectively, for a defender’s response (so that it matches the fee for the initial writ), preservation of deeds, and photocopying. Article 3(6) of this Order reinstates an amendment which was made in relation to a change in the fee following the Debt Arrangement and Attachment (Scotland) Act 2002.

Article 4 makes similar amendments to the Table of Fees in Schedule 3 to the 2008 Order. In addition, article 4(5) corrects a cross-reference in that Table of Fees.

Schedule 2 to the 2008 Order comes into force on 1st April 2009. Schedule 3 to the 2008 Order comes into force, and Schedule 2 to the 2008 Order ceases to have effect, on 1st April 2010.