DMBM681820 - Ordinary Cause: Preparing and lodging certified record, inventory of productions and the Rule 22 Note

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At the end of the adjustment period (that is 14 days before the Options Hearing) you as pursuer must prepare a record containing a copy of the pleadings as adjusted and any amendments made to these.

You must also lodge a Rule 22 Note. (This is a note of the basis for the preliminary plea.)

Lodging a Rule 22 Note

You will find a copy of the Rule 22 Note in the Book of Styles disc supplied to you by Debt Management Edinburgh Group Office.

The reason for lodging a Rule 22 Note is because the adjusted pleadings for the pursuer contain a final Plea-in-Law stating as to the relevancy and specification of the defender’s pleadings. This specification states that even if HMRC accept the defender’s averments as being true, they do not disclose a proper defence to the action. As HMRC will be relying on statutory statements of debt such as a certificate under Section 70 of the Taxes Management Act 1970 or Regulation 54(6) of the Income Tax (Employments) Regulations 1993 or Regulation 218 of the Income Tax (PAYE) Regulations 2003 as evidence that the sum sued for is due, the Rule 22 Note must be issued because it briefly outlines why the defences are insufficient and why it is not necessary to go to proof where witnesses are called etc.

The Rule 22 Note must be lodged with arrangements being made for the sheriff officer to intimate this to the defender at least three days prior to the hearing date.

Lodging inventory of productions

A production is a document or article that is used as part or an admission of the evidence by which the party seeks to prove the case.

It may be anything from a scrap of paper to a probative document (see DMBM680090).

Where such (a) document(s) is/are founded on adjustments made to the pleadings the document(s) must be lodged at the same time as the adjustments are intimated. Again intimation of these must be made by means of the sheriff officer.

Lodging certified record

Firstly you will need to change the heading of “Draft Record” on the draft record to “Record”. Also any type-set that you have entered on the draft record in either bold or italics to identify changes will need to be changed back to normal type-set.

On the final page of the record you must stamp that the record is certified and then arrange for the document to be signed.

The certified copy record must be lodged in court no later than two clear working days on which the court will be open for business before the Options Hearing. As pursuer, you must, at the same time, send a copy of this certified record to all parties in the action. The purpose of doing this is to provide the sheriff and all parties in the action with full and up to date details of the pleadings in good time before the Options Hearing.

If the Options Hearing is continued and further adjustments are made or the pleadings are amended then as pursuer you must lodge an up to date certified copy of the record. This too must be lodged in court no later than two clear working days on which the court will be open for business before the date set for the continued Options Hearing. You must also at the same time send a copy of this certified record to all parties in the action.