The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) has published its 2024-25 Business Plan. The purpose of the business plan is to support the delivery of the 2023-26 Corporate Plan by laying out the SCTS’s plans an ambition for the 2024-25 financial year. The plan lays out the SCTS’s four key reform areas which are criminal justice, civil justice, corporate reform and tribunals and the Office of the Public Guardian.

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) has released updated statistics on civil business in Scotland for the period 2019/20 to 2025/26. The data reveals that debt actions accounted for 26.2% of all civil business in 2025/26, representing the largest category of civil cases. Commissary cases accounted 15.6%, followed by personal injury at 10.4% and family actions at 9.6%—73% of which related to divorce and dissolution. The publication also includes previously unpublished civil data, providing insights into solicitor representation levels for pursuers and defenders, and the average time from case initiation to disposal.

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) has published updated guidance on claiming expenses in undefended Simple Procedure actions, following the recent Sheriff Appeal Court opinion in Cabot v Walls. Claimants are now required to submit a detailed account of any expenses to the court before a decision can be made. A pro forma is available for claimants without legal representation.

This Q&A relates to: • a stamp duty land tax (SDLT) lease (ie it was subject to SDLT when it was granted (in 2006)) • the SDLT lease ended in 2016 • a new lease will be granted in 2016 and the term of the new lease will not be backdated to the end of the original term We have assumed for the purposes of this Q&A that the new lease is of the same premises as the original lease. The SDLT rules which can apply when a tenant holds over a lease are complex. In particular, the rules have been amended since SDLT was first introduced in 2003 and different

This Practice Note gives details of stamp duty land tax (SDLT) anti-avoidance rules and SDLT reliefs which apply specifically to transactions of partnerships. It explains: • how anti-avoidance rules of general application may apply to partnerships • what additional anti-avoidance rules apply to partnership transactions, and • how general reliefs apply to partnership transactions In general, SDLT anti-avoidance rules and reliefs apply to partnerships as they would apply to the constituent partners. However, there are some modifications to the general provisions and some additional rules specifically directed at partnerships which are summarised below: • the rules which apply to transfers of interests in property investment partnerships are essentially anti-avoidance measures • if a chargeable interest is transferred from a corporate partnership to one of the partners, the normal treatment may be replaced by a requirement to claim group relief to remove the SDLT charge, and • the withdrawal of value from a partnership by a partner may give rise to an SDLT charge if it occurs within three years of transfer of a chargeable interest to

This Practice Note sets out the general treatment of partnerships for stamp duty land tax (SDLT) purposes, including what amounts to a partnership for SDLT purposes and how partnerships interact with the overall SDLT regime. It also covers transfers of an interest in a partnership. This Practice Note explains: • which entities and structures are regarded as partnerships for SDLT purposes • how partnerships are treated for SDLT purposes • how SDLT applies when a partnership acquires a chargeable interest in land from an unrelated party, and • who is responsible for reporting and paying SDLT and related liabilities Separate Practice Notes deal with what the SDLT legislation refers to as: • special transactions (ie acquisitions from and disposals to connected parties or partners of a partnership), see Practice Notes: SDLT and partnerships—transfers to a partnership and SDLT and partnerships—transfers from a partnership • anti-avoidance rules and reliefs, see Practice Note: SDLT and partnerships—anti-avoidance and reliefs, and • transactions involving property investment partnerships, see Practice Note: SDLT and property investment partnerships SDLT

This Practice Note explains the special stamp duty land tax (SDLT) rules which apply when an interest in land is transferred from a partnership to a partner or person connected with a partner, including transfers on dissolution of partnership. Special SDLT rules apply: • when a chargeable interest is transferred to a partnership from one or more partners or persons connected with one or more partners, including transfers on formation of the partnership • when value is withdrawn from a partnership by certain parties during the three years following a transfer, as described in the bullet point above • when a chargeable interest is transferred from a partnership to one or more partners or persons connected with one or more partners, including transfers in connection with the dissolution of the partnership, and • when a chargeable interest is transferred from one partnership to another partnership and there are common or connected partners The rules relating to special partnership transactions for SDLT purposes are set out in Part 3 of Schedule 15 to the

This Practice Note explains the special stamp duty land tax (SDLT) rules which apply when an interest in land is transferred to a partnership from one or more partners or persons connected with one or more partners. This includes a transfer on formation of the partnership. SDLT ceased to apply to any land transaction involving any interests in or over land in Scotland from 1 April 2015. From that date, land and buildings transaction tax (LBTT) applies to such transactions, subject to transitional provisions. For further details, see the LBTT subtopic. SDLT ceased to apply to any land transaction involving any interests in or over land in Wales from 1 April 2018. From that date, land transaction tax (LTT) applies to such transactions, subject to transitional provisions. For further details, see the Wales: LTT subtopic. Special partnership transactions Special SDLT rules apply: • when a chargeable interest is transferred to a partnership from one or more partners or persons connected with one or more partners, including transfers on formation of the partnership • when value

This Practice Note sets out the specific stamp duty land tax (SDLT) rules which apply to property investment partnerships (PIPs). It explains the meaning of the term and the effect that PIP status has on the SDLT obligations of the partnership itself and the partners. Broadly speaking, a partnership is a PIP if its principal activity is investing or dealing in (ie holding or exploiting) chargeable interests. The general effect of the provisions is to charge SDLT on the acquisition of an interest in a PIP as if an equivalent interest had been acquired in certain property owned by the PIP. Only some property is included in this, so each transaction must be examined in the light of the detailed rules. Transfers of interests in partnerships which are not PIPs only give rise to SDLT charges in exceptional cases. However, the transfer of an interest in a PIP is regarded as a chargeable transaction, generally giving rise to SDLT if the PIP holds one or more relevant chargeable interests. Whether a chargeable interest held by

This Practice Note looks at the meaning of chargeable consideration, which determines the amount of stamp duty land tax (SDLT) payable on a chargeable transaction. For details on what amounts to a chargeable transaction, see Practice Note: Land transactions, chargeable interests and chargeable transactions. For details of chargeable consideration in the context of leases, see Practice Note: SDLT-common lease transactions. SDLT ceased to apply to any land transaction involving any interests in or over land in Scotland from 1 April 2015. From that date, land and buildings transaction tax (LBTT) applies to such transactions, subject to transitional provisions. Consequently, references in this Practice Note to 'UK land' or similar expressions in the context of the application of SDLT should be read to exclude any interests in or over land in Scotland from 1 April 2015. For further details, see the LBTT subtopic. SDLT ceased to apply to any land transaction involving any interest in or over land in Wales from 1 April 2018. From that date, land transaction tax (LTT) applies to such transactions, subject to transitional

The amount of stamp duty land tax (SDLT) payable on a chargeable transaction is determined by reference to the 'chargeable consideration' for the transaction. This Practice Note looks at the general meaning of chargeable consideration in the context of lease transactions. This includes how SDLT is calculated in relation to rent, lease premiums and deposits. For details of how SDLT is calculated in relation to specific lease transactions including linked leases, surrender and re-grant and variations, see Practice Note: SDLT—common lease transactions. SDLT ceased to apply to any land transaction involving any interests in or over land in Scotland from 1 April 2015. From that date, land and buildings transaction tax (LBTT) applies to such transactions, subject to transitional provisions. Consequently, references in this Practice Note to 'UK land' or similar expressions in the context of the application of SDLT should be read to exclude any interests in or over land in Scotland from 1 April 2015. For further details, see the LBTT subtopic. SDLT ceased to apply to any land transaction involving any interest in or over

Deferred SDLT has the meaning as set out in clause [insert number] HMRC Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs SDLT stamp duty land tax as provided in Part 4 of Finance Act 2003 and any amending or supplementary legislation SDLT return a land transaction return as defined in section 76 of the Finance Act 2003, including any required additional or supplementary forms, documents or information Clauses 1 [Where it is intended that the Buyer will take over responsibility for paying the Deferred SDLT and submitting related SDLT returns:] Deferred SDLT 1.1 Payment of SDLT on the purchase of the Property by the Seller was deferred