A solicitor’s plea for help: What’s a clearance certificate when it’s at home?

Graham Fordyce

My client raised an action of division or sale in 2018. The property was eventually sold in November last year and in terms of the ordinary cause rules, the net proceeds were consigned into court.

Last month, the court granted an order for payment to each party, but regrettably, the funds have yet to be released because the court requires to see something called a ‘clearance certificate’ from HMRC. In over 30 years of practice, I’ve never heard of such a thing and I am having extreme difficulty in finding someone who has!

It transpires that we are all still subject to the terms of the Sheriff Courts Consignations (Scotland) Act 1893, imposing a duty on the sheriff clerk each year to account to the Queen’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer, which I’m guessing has something to do with the Inland Revenue. I’m further guessing that the certificate confirms that no tax is due on the funds held by the court, but since no one can tell me what a clearance certificate looks like, then my ignorance remains intact.

You can imagine the misery heaped on my client. Can anyone put him out of his misery please? Please don’t ask me to contact HMRC. I’ve tried. God knows I’ve tried. I’ve even engaged my client’s local MP to no avail. If you can point me in the right direction, please contact me at: mail@gafordyce.com.