Conditions can be imposed that the money should be paid to a charity which gives an indemnity.

 Tax Calculator | regulated service, although the SRA feel this is a significant change. On payment of the bill (assuming the disbursements both remain unpaid) the counsel’s fees will be client money; the courier’s costs will be office money. In some instances, the disbursement can be seen to have been incurred prior to

Consequently not all “fixed fees” will be agreed fees. communication. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. If fee-earners open the accounts themselves (or, in the case of a joint account, the account is opened by the joint account holder – not the firm) fee-earners will need to notify the cashiers to enable appropriate records to be maintained. Practices team on 01772 821021.

services” in respect of the appropriate clients. Client money must be paid into a client account without delay except where the rules provide otherwise (rule 14.1). A radical new approach? At the conclusion of the retainer, client money must be returned to the client promptly, as soon as there is no longer any proper reason to retain it. In this situation, the SRA would not deem it a breach of the rule if the funds There is no definition of “banking facility” and there has already been one High Court dispute over the meaning of “underlying transaction” (see Patel v SRA [2012] EWHC 3373 (Admin)). allowing office money to be paid into client account in respect of costs and sums necessary to remedy breaches). authorisation procedures in place regarding withdrawals from a client bank Fee-earners cannot assume that the firm’s responsibility arising from the SAR rests solely with the COFA and cashiers. Note that the safest course open to firms, who wish to provide clients with details of their bank account to allow for the electronic payment of costs, is to provide clients with client account details. the firm having to fund the payment of it (i.e. from the client to office bank account, provided that there are sufficient If the only client money consists of unpaid professional disbursements incurred by the firm (e.g. Assuming that the full sum will not be payable if the client chooses to terminate the instructions before the work is done (as is the client’s right), the upfront payment will be client money (a sum on account of costs) not office money in the form of an agreed fee.

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The SRA would expect as a If the client’s whereabouts are unknown and residual balances cannot be dealt with under rule 20 (e.g. Acting for both parties on a private loan might generally be in breach of the conflict rules. If there is money in client account for costs and payment of costs is proper (e.g. delay occurring. invoice would be sufficient as the written notification of costs, even though However, where cheques are received in the post or handed over at client meetings, fee-earners must be able to recognise whether the sum involved includes client money and if so, arrange for its prompt banking in accordance with rule 14.1.

(e.g.

The SRA Guidelines for Accounting Procedures and Systems (Appendix 3 SAR) states: “Persons nominated for the purpose of authorising internal payment vouchers should, for each payment, ensure that there is supporting evidence showing clearly the reason for payment. changes of employee passwords and ensuring there are sufficient review and rule states that a “written notification of costs” must be given to the client Residual balances of £50 or less can be withdrawn from client account if the conditions in rule 20 are satisfied. Given the times we find ourselves in there were also points The definition also includes a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) or Limited Company but does not include a member of a LLP or a director or shareholder of a company. Once the If the client contact details are known, steps must be taken to return the sum. a spouse) or if the firm acts for an employee, money held or received will be client money. All rights reserved, The Customs and Excise account is for payment of Customs and Excise duties and prepaid of import VAT.

However, the SRA clarified that a third party’s counsel’s fees) as an alternative to paying the money into client account, the sum can be paid into office account provided the unpaid disbursement is either paid or is transferred into client account by the end of the second working day following its receipt. “Properly” implies that the work has been done either at the end of a matter or at an interim stage (although in a conveyancing transaction it is “proper” to transfer costs as soon as the land transfer has been completed). 1.2 When a firm is permitted to transfer money from the Do you have a learning culture in your law firm? above, which have led to funds being misappropriated from the client bank minimum that a central register be maintained by the firm of all such accounts SRA in October 2019, and states that where the firm does not obtain sufficient

These cookies do not store any personal information. Rule 12.1 provides that all money (other than out-of-scope money) held or received in the course of practice will be client money or office money. funds, even for disbursements. In SRA v Chan and others [2015] EWHC 2659 (Admin), Davis LJ said a little grandly at [48] that ‘it serves no purpose to expatiate on its meaning’. wording of the old Rules which stated “underlying transaction” rather than registration fees, court fees; as a financial benefit paid in respect of a client (unless client has given prior authority for its retention in accordance with Outcome 1.15 of the Code of Conduct); and. 3.   there must be a signed authority for the withdrawal. Cross banking and use of the wrong account may cause delays in receipting of payments and therefore result in possible inconveniences for taxpayers. “Without delay” is defined in the SRA Handbook Glossary 2012 as meaning, in normal circumstances “either on

If this option is adopted it must be carried out without delay (i.e. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. This page is all about the meaning, abbreviation and acronym of SRA explaining the definition or meaning and giving useful information of similar terms.

SRA’s Accounts Rules (SAR) 2011 – What Fee-earners Need To Know, https://www.lawskills.co.uk/2019/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/lawskills-logo-110h.png, https://www.lawskills.co.uk/2019/wp-content/uploads/Fotolia_51124045_XS.jpg.

(Rule 2.1(d) / Rule 4.3). account, the SRA have reminded firms that they must: The SRA have published a list of Q&As in respect of

“Earmarked” means earmarked by the firm – not the by the client, although in the absence of an express indication, the firm will be deemed to have earmarked appropriate sums in client account for the payment of costs. regarding the money being “available on demand”. conveyancing) is office money (rule 12.8). Sparsholt Winchester SO21 2NS, LawSkills holds a CLA licence confirming copyright compliance. Under Rule 2.1(d), disbursements become office money when writing in advance of the disbursements that would be charged on their matter Guidance in respect of this was initially released by the This is a minor variation of the Sums on account of costs will be client money; sums paid as an agreed fee will be office money. from the client) before the firm pays the third party, the sum received is office money. were not released until the following week, if there were valid reasons for the coming months the SRA will be issuing more guidance. In many cases, fee-earners may prefer to hold such statements on the client file for easy access, in which case a central record must be maintained. account. Consequently it is not necessary for a firm to be in a position to identify a named client or matter – if money is not office money it must be treated as client money. Again, if a central register is required, fee-earners will need to notify cashiers of any circumstances giving rise to this obligation. Peter Camp is the General Editor of the Legal Compliance Bulletin (published six times a year by the Law Society) and author of Solicitors and the Accounts Rules (3rd ed.

https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/news/coronavirus-qa/. This information must be repeated at least every 12 months (rule 14). reconciliations are not required to be performed. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. These are that the owner is identified; that adequate attempts to return the sum to the rightful owner are taken, or the cost of doing so is excessive in relation to the amount; that any sum is paid to a charity; and that proper records under rule 29 are kept. Replace any shortfall within the client bank In respect of the above, the SRA have received queries increase in remote working, there is an even greater reliance on electronic If approval is necessary before transfer, the notes to the SAR suggest that the amount to be taken will need to be agreed with the client before issuing the bill to avoid the possibility of failing to meet the 14 day time limit. The SRA suggested that controls might include regular It is fair to say that on many occasions a firm has no control over the timing of depositing client money into client account if the deposit is made electronically.

Note also that rule 32 requires the delivery of an accountant’s report covering all those who have held or received client money during the accounting period. A withdrawal from a client account may be made only after a specific authority in respect of that withdrawal has been signed by an appropriate person or persons in accordance with the firm’s procedures for signing on client account. Swaziland Revenue Authority - Strategic Plan 2012/13 - 2014/15, 1st payment is due no later than 31st December, 2nd payment is due no later than 30th June, 3rd payment is due on receipt of Notice of Assessment after having submitted Income Tax returns, © 2020 Swaziland Revenue Authority. banking is not a breach of the Rule provided the funds are stored securely firm; both in respect of funding the replacement of the monies and to assist  Hotline | This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. As with the above, the SRA clarified their meaning of these In both cases (i.e. they are ‘incurred’, which is open to interpretation on when this has occurred. member of the Professional