Companies Act 1948

170 Expenses of investigation of company's affairs.

(1) The expenses of and incidental to an investigation by an inspector appointed by the Board of Trade under the foregoing provisions of this Act shall be defrayed in the first instance by the Board of Trade, but the following persons shall, to the extent mentioned, be liable to repay the Board:—

(a) any person who is convicted on a prosecution instituted as a result of the investigation by the Director of Public Prosecutions or by or on behalf of the Lord Advocate, or who is ordered to pay damages or restore any property in proceedings brought by virtue of subsection (4) of the last foregoing section, may in the same proceedings be ordered to pay the said expenses to such extent as may be specified in the order;

(b) any body corporate in whose name proceedings are brought as aforesaid shall be liable to the amount or value of any sums or property recovered by it as a result of those proceedings; and

(c) unless as a result of the investigation a prosecution is instituted by the Director of Public Prosecutions or by or on behalf of the Lord Advocate,—

(i) any body corporate dealt with by the report, where the inspector was appointed otherwise than of the Board's own motion, shall be liable, except so far as the Board otherwise .direct; and

(ii) the applicants for the investigation, where the inspector was appointed under section one hundred and sixty-four of this Act, shall be liable to such extent (if any) as the Board may direct;

and any amount for which a body corporate is liable by virtue of paragraph (b) of this subsection shall be a first charge on the sums or property mentioned in that paragraph.

(2) The report of an inspector appointed otherwise than of the Board of Trade's own motion may, if he thinks fit, and shall, if the Board so direct, include a recommendation as to the directions (if any) which he thinks appropriate, in the light of his investigation, to be given under paragraph (c) of the foregoing subsection.

(3) For the purposes of this section, any costs or expenses incurred by the Board of Trade in or in connection with proceedings brought by virtue of subsection (4) of the last foregoing section (including expenses incurred by virtue of subsection (5) thereof) shall be treated as expenses of the investigation giving rise to the proceedings.

(4) Any liability to repay the Board of Trade imposed by paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) of this section shall, subject to satisfaction of the Board's right to repayment, be a liability also to indemnify all persons against liability under paragraph (c) thereof, and any such liability imposed by the said paragraph (a) shall, subject as aforesaid, be a liability also to indemnify all persons against liability under the said paragraph (b); and any person liable under the said paragraph (a) or (b) or either sub-paragraph of the said paragraph (c) shall be entitled to contribution from any other person liable under the same paragraph or sub-paragraph, as the case may be, according to the amount of their respective liabilities thereunder.

(5) The expenses to be defrayed by the Board of Trade under this section shall, so far as not recovered thereunder, be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament, but subsection (3) of section thirteen of the [16 & 17 Geo. 5. c. 9.] Economy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1926 (which provides for the issue out of the Bankruptcy and Companies Winding-up (Fees) Account of sums towards meeting the charges estimated by the Board of Trade in respect of salaries and expenses under this Act in relation to the winding up of companies in England) shall have effect as if the said expenses were expenses incurred by the Board under this Act in relation to the winding up of companies in England.