When Rangers had their bank account legally impeded on Friday 2nd September a fourteen week clock started ticking.
The funds on order of the court were moved into a holding account.
Rangers cannot access that money till then.
The core amount of £2.8million has been arrested.
It is also common practice for a sum 1.5 times the amount arrested to be aside.
This means that an additional £1.4 million more has been placed in the holding account..
Therefore the total cash currentl arrested will be £4.2million .
Therefore £4.2 million is currently beyond Rangers’ reach.
This is approximately three months wages for the Ibrox club.
This £1.4million- most of which will be returned to Rangers at the end of the 14 week arrestment period- is not to be confused with the penalty payment is also £1.4 million.
To avoid another demand for immediate payment from HMRC for the £1.4 million penalty, Rangers should have filed an appeal within 30 days of receiving the penalty assessment. (If they were late in filing an appeal, they would still be expected to have one granted should they apply now given the consequences of enforcing payment now. The £2.8 million bill could not be appealed as Rangers’ previous board had signed an agreement to pay it).
IF they do appeal then it would go into the Tribunal system. This is where the “big tax bill” is currently progressing in a separate process.
That case resumes in November. Rangers were successful in applying for “the big case” case to be heard in private. That is why there have been no reporters present.
http://www.justice.gov.uk/guidance/courts-and-tribunals/tribunals/tax/index.htm
“Public Hearings
Hearings before the Tax Tribunals are normally open to the public. However, any party to the proceedings can ask for a hearing, or part of a hearing, to be held in private in certain circumstances. If you wish for your hearing to be conducted in private, you should write to us with reasons why. The fact that your financial affairs are personal is not enough; there must be a special reason such as it is in the interests of public order or national security or not do so would prejudice the interests of justice. Should you wish for your hearing to be heard in private, you should write to us as soon as possible. The Tribunal will make the final decision on this.”
Obviously anything that could attract a crowd of Rangers supporters can have a public order concern.
However, I do not think that the inability to give free tickets to HM forces for Ibrox would seriously imperil the defence of the realm. So national security shouldn’t be a concern here.
So despite getting a result on the big tax case for a private hearing Rangers might not be successful a second time around in applying for a tribunal dealing with the £1.4 million penalty for late payment to be heard in private.
When the clock stops ticking RFC will get their £1.4 million back minus costs.
They have to get by until then without that money.
What state will Rangers be in on the 9th of December when the clock stops?
All of their current behaviour indicates a difficulty in paying even minor bills (e.g. the £35k to Levy & McRae).
This requires an explanation.
There SHOULD have more than enough working cash from the Season Ticket money at this stage of financial year.
However at the moment Rangers are behaving like a company with very little ready cash and no access to credit.
Now for the blue half of Glasgow that must be highly distressing.
