SCHEDULE 5 - POWERS OF TRUSTEE IN BANKRUPTCY
PART I - POWERS EXERCISABLE WITH SANCTION(1) Power to carry on any business of the bankrupt so far as may be necessary for winding it up beneficially and so far as the trustee is able to do so without contravening any requirement imposed by or under any enactment.
(2) Power to bring, institute or defend any action or legal proceedings relating to the property comprised in the bankrupt's estate.
(3) Power to accept as the consideration for the sale of any property comprised in the bankrupt's estate a sum of money payable at a future time subject to such stipulations as to security or otherwise as the creditors' committee or the court thinks fit.
(4) Power to mortgage or pledge any part of the property comprised in the bankrupt's estate for the purpose of raising money for the payment of his debts.
(5) Power, where any right, option or other power forms part of the bankrupt's estate to make payments or incur liabilities with a view to obtaining, for the benefit of the creditors, any property which the subject of the right, option or power.
(6) Power to refer to arbitration, or compromise on such terms as may be agreed on, any debts, claims or liabilities subsisting or supposed to subsist between the bankrupt and any person who may have incurred any liability to the bankrupt.
(7) Power to make such compromise or other arrangement as may be thought expedient with creditors, or persons claiming to be creditors, in respect of the bankruptcy debts.
(8) Power to make such compromise or other arrangement as may be thought expedient with respect to any claim arising out of or incidental to the bankrupt's estate made or capable of being made on the trustee by any person or by the trustee on any person.
PART II - GENERAL POWERS
(9) Power to sell any part of the property for the time being comprised in the bankrupt's estate, including the goodwill and book debts of any business.
(10) Power to give receipts for any money received by him, being receipts which effectually discharge the person paying the money from all responsibility in respect of its application.
(11) Power to prove, rank, claim and draw a dividend in respect of such debts due to the bankrupt as are comprised in his estate.
(12) Power to exercise in relation to any property comprised in the bankrupt's estate any powers the capacity to exercise which is vested in him under Parts VIII to XI of this Act.
(13) Power to deal with any property comprised in the estate to which the bankrupt is beneficially entitled as tenant in tail in the same manner as the bankrupt might have dealt with it.
PART III - ANCILLARY POWERS
(14) For the purposes of, or in connection with, the exercise of any of his powers under Parts VIII or XI of this Act, the trustee may, by his official name -
(a) hold property of every description,
(b) make contracts,
(c) sue and be sued,
(d) enter into engagements binding on himself and, in respect of the bankrupt's estate, on his successors in office,
(e) employ an agent,
(f) execute any power of attorney, deed or other instrument;
and he may do any other act which is necessary or expedient for the purposes of or in connection with the exercise of those powers.
SCHEDULE 6 - THE CATEGORIES OF PREFERENTIAL DEBTS
Category 1 : Debts due to Inland Revenue
(1) Sums due at the relevant date from the debtor on account of deductions of income tax from emoluments paid during the period of 12 months next before that date.
The deductions have referred to are those which the debtor was liable to make under section 204 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1970 (pay as you earn), less the amount of the repayments of income tax which the debtor was liable to make during that period.
(2) Sums due at the relevant date from the debtor in respect of such deductions as are required to be made by the debtor for that period under section 69 of the Finance (No.2) Act 1975 (sub-contractors in the construction industry).
Category 2 : Debts due to Customs & Excise
(3) Any value added tax which is referable to the period of 6 months next before the relevant date (which period is referred to below as "the 6-month period").
For the purposes of this paragraph -
(a) where the whole of the prescribed accounting period to which any value added tax is attributable falls within the 6-month period, the whole amount of that tax is referable to that period; and
(b) in any other case the amount of any value added tax which is referable to the 6-month period is the proportion of the tax which is equal to such proportion (if any) of the accounting reference period in question as falls within the 6-month period ;
and in sub-paragraph (a) "prescribed" means prescribed by regulations under the Value Added Tax Act 1983.
(4) The amount of any car tax which is due at the relevant date from the debtor and which became sue within a period of 12 months next before that date.
(5) Any amount which is due -
(a) by way of general betting duty or bingo duty, or
(b) under section 12(1) of the Betting and Gaming Duties Act 1981 (general betting and pool betting duty recoverable from agent collecting stakes), or
(c) under section 14 of, or Schedule 2 to, that Act (gaming licence duty),
from the debtor at the relevant date and which became due within the period of 12 months next before that date.
Category 3 : Social security contributions
(6) All sums which on the relevant date are due from the debtor on account of Class I or 2 contributions under the Social Security Act 1975 or the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Act 1975 and which became due from the debtor in the 12 months next before the relevant date.
(7) All sums which on the relevant date have been assessed on and are due from the debtor on account of Class 4 contributions under either of those Acts of 1975, being sums which -
(a) are due to the Commissioners of Inland Revenue (rather than to the Secretary of State or a Northern Ireland department), and
(b) are assessed on the debtor up to 5th April next before the relevant date,
but not exceeding, in the whole, any one year's assessment.
Category 4 : Contributions to occupational pension schemes, etc.
(8) Any sum which is owed by the debtor and is a sum to which Schedule 3 to the Social Security Pensions Act 1975 applies (contributions to occupational pension schemes and state scheme premiums).
Category 5 : Remuneration, etc., of employees
(9) So much of any amount which -
(a) is owed by the debtor to a person who is or has been an employee of the debtor, and
(b) is payable by way of remuneration in respect of the whole or any part of the period of 4 months next before the relevant date,
as does not exceed so much as may be prescribed by order made by the Secretary of State.
(10) An amount owed by way of accrued holiday remuneration, in respect of any period of employment before the relevant date, to a person whose employment by the debtor has been terminated, whether before, on or after that date.
(11) So much of any sum owed in respect of money advanced for the purposes as has been applied for the payment of a debt which, if it had not been paid, would have been a debt falling within paragraph 9 or 10.
(12) So much of any amount which -
(a) is ordered (whether before or after the relevant date) to be paid by the debtor under the Reserve Forces (Safeguard of Employment) Act 1985, and
(b) is so ordered in respect of a default made by the debtor before that date in this discharge of his obligations under that Act,
as does not exceed such amount as may be prescribed by order made by the Secretary of State.
Interpretation for Category 5
(13)(1) For the purposes of paragraphs 9 to 12, a sum is payable by the debtor to a person by way of remuneration in respect of any period if -
(a) it is paid as wages or salary (whether payable for time or for piece work or earned wholly or partly by way of commission) in respect of services rendered to the debtor in that period, or
(b) it is an amount falling within the following sub-paragraph and is payable by the debtor in respect of that period.
(2) An amount falls within this sub-paragraph if it is -
(a) a guarantee payment under section 12(1) of the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978 (employee without work to do for a day or part of a day) ;
(b) remuneration on suspension on medical grounds under section 19 of that Act ;
(c) any payment for time off under section 27(3) (trade union duties), 31(3) (looking for work, etc) or 31A(4) (ante-natal care) of that Act; or
(d) remuneration under a protective award made by an industrial tribunal under section 101 of the Employment Protection Act 1975 (redundancy dismissal with compensation).
(14)(1) This paragraph relates to one case in which a person's employment has been terminated by or in consequence of his employer going into liquidation or being adjudged bankrupt or (his employer being a company not in liquidation) by or in consequence of -
(a) a receiver being appointed as mentioned in section 40 of this Act (debenture-holders secured by floating charge), or
(b) the appointment of a receiver under section 53(6) or 54(5) of this Act (Scottish company with property subject to floating charge), or
(c) the taking of possession by debenture-holders (so secured), as mentioned in section 196 of the Companies Act.
(2) For the purposes of paragraphs 9 to 12, holiday remuneration is deemed to have accrued to that person in respect of any period of employment if , by virtue of his contract of employment or of any enactment that remuneration would have been accrued in respect of that period if his employment had continued until he became entitled to be allowed the holiday.
(3) The reference in sub-paragraph (2) to any enactment includes an order or direction made under an enactment.
(15) Without prejudice to paragraphs 13 and 14 -
(a) any remuneration payable by the debtor to a person in respect of a period of holiday or of absence from work through sickness or other good cause is deemed to be wages or (as the case may be) salary in respect of services rendered to the debtor in that period, and
(b) references here and in those paragraphs to remuneration in respect of a period of holiday include any sums which, if they had been paid, would have been treated for the purposes of the enactments relating to social security as earnings in respect of that period.
Orders
(16) An order under paragraph 9 or 12 -
(a) may contain such transitional provisions as may appear to the Secretary of State necessary or expedient;
(b) shall be made by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
SCHEDULE 7 - INSOLVENCY PRACTITIONERS TRIBUNAL
Panels of Members(1)(1) The Secretary of State shall draw up and from time to time revise -
(a) a panel of persons who are barristers, advocates or solicitors, in each case of not less than 7 years' standing, and are nominated for the purpose by the Lord Chancellor or the Lord President of the Court of Session, and
(b) a panel of persons who are experienced in insolvency matters;
and the members of the Tribunal shall be selected from those panels in accordance with this Schedule.
(2) The power to revise the panels includes power to terminate a person's membership of either of them, and is accordingly to that extent subject to section 8 of the Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1971 (which makes it necessary to obtain the concurrence of the Lord Chancellor and the Lord President of the Court of Session to dismissals in certain cases.
Remuneration of members
(2) The Secretary of State may out of money provided by Parliament pay to members of the Tribunal such remuneration as he may with the approval of the Treasury determine ; and such expenses of the Tribunal as the Secretary of State and the Treasury may approve shall be defrayed by the Secretary of State out of money so provided.
Sittings of Tribunal
(3)(1) For the purposes of carrying out their functions in relation to any cases referred to them, the Tribunal may sit either as a single tribunal or in two or more divisions.
(2) The functions of the Tribunal in relation to any case referred to them shall be exercised by three members consisting of -
(a) a chairman selected by the Secretary of State from the panel drawn up under paragraph 1(1)(a) above, and
(b) two other members selected by the Secretary of State from the panel drawn up under paragraph 1(1)(b).
Procedure of Tribunal
(4)(1) Any investigation by the Tribunal shall be so conducted as to afford a reasonable opportunity for representations to be made to the Tribunal by or on behalf of the person whose case is the subject of the investigation.
(2) For the purposes of any such investigation, the Tribunal -
(a) may by summons require any person to attend, at such time and place as is specified in the summons, to give evidence or to produce any books, papers and other records in his possession or under his control which the Tribunal consider it necessary for the purposes of the investigation to examine, and
(b) may take evidence on oath, and for the purpose administer oaths, or may, instead of administering an oath, require the person examined to make and subscribe a declaration of the truth of the matter respecting which he is examined;
but no person shall be required, in obedience to such a summons, to ro more than ten miles from his place of residence, unless the necessary expenses of his attendance are paid or tendered to him.
(3) Every person who-
(a) without reasonable excuse fails to attend in obedience to a summons issued under this paragraph, or refuses to give evidence, or
(b) intentionally alters, suppresses, conceals or destroys or refuses to produce any document which he may be required to produce for the purposes of an investigation by the Tribunal, is liable to a fine.
(4) Subject to the provisions of this paragraph, the Secretary of State may make rules for regulating the procedure on any investigation by the Tribunal.
(5) In their application to Scotland, sub-paragraphs (2) and (3) above have effect as if for any reference to a summons there were substituted a reference to a notice in writing.