IR24                          29 November 1994

        INLAND REVENUE REPRESENTATION IN SHERIFF COURTS

The   Chancellor  proposes  in  his  Budget  to   remove   the
restriction whereby Collectors of Taxes in Scotland  can  only appear
in the Sheriff courts for recovery of debts of  up  to Pounds 1,500.  In
future, such action may be taken for amounts up to Pounds 50,000.

The  Chancellor's intention is to reduce the time and  expense
currently  involved  in  such recovery  action  both  for  the
taxpayer and the Inland Revenue.  The change will take  effect from
the date on which the Finance Bill receives Royal Assent.

                            DETAILS

1.   At  present,  tax collectors in Scotland  can  only  take
recovery action for debts up to Pounds 1,500 in Sheriff courts.  Cases
above that amount have to be heard in the Court  of Session  in
Edinburgh  with  legal  representation,  and therefore have to be
transferred to a separate specialist Enforcement Section in Edinburgh
to prepare the case  for the higher court.

2.   The proposed change will allow more cases to be taken  in the
local  Sheriff  courts.   The  advantage  for  both taxpayers and the
Inland Revenue will be the reduction in the  time  and  expense
involved in  transferring  papers between  offices  and  in
travelling  to  Edinburgh  for hearings about relatively small
amounts.