Personal Insolvency Act 2012 (Accounts and Related Matters) Regulations 2013

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 247/2013

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 12th July, 2013.

The Insolvency Service of Ireland, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Section 3 of the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 [No. 44 of 2012] (“the Act”) hereby makes the following regulations:

Citation and Purpose

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 (Accounts and Related Matters) Regulations 2013.

(2) These Regulations are made for the purposes of Section 173 of the Act.

Scope

2. These Regulations apply to personal insolvency practitioners authorised under Section 164 of the Act.

Safeguarding of Funds

3. (1) A personal insolvency practitioner shall put in place and maintain on a constant basis robust controls and arrangements to safeguard funds received from or on behalf of debtors or held to the credit of debtors and to prevent the use of these funds for the own account of the personal insolvency practitioner or any person other than the creditor or debtor entitled thereto.

(2) A personal insolvency practitioner shall lodge promptly and hold all funds received from or on behalf of or to the credit (in the circumstances referred to in Regulation 3(6)) of each debtor in an account (referable to that debtor only), with a bank authorised to carry on business in the State, solely for the purpose of receiving payments from that debtor and transmitting such payments to creditors after the deduction of any fees, costs and outlays payable to the personal insolvency practitioner under the Act and Regulations made pursuant to the Act and in accordance with the Debt Settlement Arrangement or, as applicable, the Personal Insolvency Arrangement.

(3) A personal insolvency practitioner shall disburse funds to creditors according to their respective entitlements under the Debt Settlement Arrangement or, as applicable, the Personal Insolvency Arrangement after their receipt from or on behalf of the debtor.

(4) All such accounts referred to in Regulation 3(2) above shall be designated as either a “DSA account” or a “PIA account”, as appropriate, depending on whether the account is to be used to make and receive payments pertaining to a Debt Settlement Arrangement (in these Regulations a “DSA account”) or to a Personal Insolvency Arrangement (in these Regulations a “PIA account”). A DSA account and a PIA account shall also contain a unique identifier that identifies the debtor that is party to the Debt Settlement Arrangement or, as applicable, the Personal Insolvency Arrangement.

(5) A personal insolvency practitioner shall ensure that funds received from or on behalf of each debtor and funds received by the personal insolvency practitioner to which creditors are entitled under the relevant Debt Settlement Arrangement or, as applicable, the Personal Insolvency Arrangement are not co-mingled with those of the personal insolvency practitioner or with those of any other person.

(6) The following shall be the only debits and credits that may be made through a designated DSA account or PIA account:

Credits (inward payments)

(a) funds received from or on behalf of the relevant debtor in respect of payments due under the Debt Settlement Arrangement or, as applicable, the Personal Insolvency Arrangement;

(b) refunds received from a creditor, the personal insolvency practitioner or, as applicable, the bank for the credit of the relevant debtor, in order to correct any error in making the payments referred to at (d), (e) or (f) below and in reversing the payments referred to at (g) below;

(c) bank interest, where appropriate;

Debits (outward payments)

(d) disbursements on behalf of the debtor to a creditor according to his or her entitlement under the Debt Settlement Arrangement or, as applicable, the Personal Insolvency Arrangement;

(e) fees, charges and other outlays due to the personal insolvency practitioner under the Act and Regulations made pursuant to the Act and in accordance with the Debt Settlement Arrangement or, as applicable, the Personal Insolvency Arrangement and for which the personal insolvency practitioner has adequate documentary proof that the fees are properly due at the time of withdrawal;

(f) bank charges, where appropriate;

(g) moneys that have been transferred into the DSA account or, as applicable, the PIA account in error for which the personal insolvency practitioner has adequate documentary proof demonstrating such error.

4. A DSA account or a PIA account may never be overdrawn.

5. A personal insolvency practitioner shall ensure that funds held in a DSA account or PIA account are insulated against and not subject to claims of creditors of the personal insolvency practitioner.

6. A personal insolvency practitioner shall, with respect to his or her practice as a personal insolvency practitioner:

(a) keep such accounting records as are adequate to enable him or her at any time and without delay to distinguish funds held for one debtor or creditor from funds held for any other debtor or creditor and from the funds of the personal insolvency practitioner or any other person; and

(b) maintain...