BASYS
FAB applications are processed via BASYS, the AiB’s online tool.
Advisers can be registered by their organisation to use the system once they have received the appropriate training.
BASYS training
Training on BASYS can be accessed by Scottish advisers via the MATRICS learning programme.
1The AiB also has a useful training tool which can be accessed on their website.
2 Advisers will have to register to gain access.
The application is in two parts.
Part 1 contains, among other things, the client’s personal details, their income and expenditure, assets and liabilities.
Part 2 requires the client to sign several legal statements, including the statement of understanding and the statement of truth. It also contains a warning:
’It is a criminal offence under section 8(4) or 218(1) and (2) of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016 for you to make a false statement in this form in relation to your assets or business or financial affairs, to not disclose any material fact in this statement or make a material misstatement unless you can show that you did not know that statement was false and had no reason to believe it was false.
On summary conviction, you may be liable to a fine of up to £5,000 or to imprisonment for a maximum period of three months or to both. If you deliberately do not disclose all relevant information or if you deliberately make a false statement when completing this form, you may become subject to bankruptcy restrictions.’
If the client deliberately does not disclose all relevant information, or if they deliberately make a false statement when completing the form, they may become subject to bankruptcy restrictions, a fine or even imprisonment.
Therefore, the client has stated that they have been given advice and that they will comply with the trustee following the award of bankruptcy. Ensure you point this out to the client before you make the application.
Try to ensure that your client is aware of what they are signing. Some advisers get the client to sign a copy of the warning as well as the statements of undertakings and truth for their records.
BASYS allows an adviser to enter all the details of income, expenditure, assets and liabilities as well as other necessary information for the application.
Once the application is made, it is assessed by the Insolvency Registration Team at the AiB which decides the application and if it qualifies for the MAP or FAB process.
If the application is incomplete, it can be returned to the adviser for more information. They have 21 days to update the information. It also allows the adviser to upload documents such as the Certificate for Sequestration, charge for payment, wage slips, bank statements and any other information required by the AiB.