Scottish top court to proceed with judicial review of deposit return scheme

The Court of Session, the supreme civil court of Scotland, has last week granted its permission for the judicial review petition against Circularity Scotland Limited (CSL), the government-appointed administrator of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) to proceed.

The petition has been raised by veteran retailer Abdul Majid, who is challenging the legality of the retailer handling fees which CSL are seeking to impose on retailers.

Following a hearing on 15 December, the court has on Friday (23 December) granted permission for the review to proceed to a substantive hearing on 30 March 2023.

The Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) has welcomed the development.

“Scottish Grocers’ Federation has been and remains fully committed to a fit for purpose deposit return scheme but for that to happen recognition must be given and action taken to address the concerns around retailer handling fee levels which has been raised in Mr Majid’s petition,” Pete Cheema, chief executive of the SGF commented.

Majid, a former president of SGF, argues that the retailer handling fee levels will not cover his costs following the introduction of the DRS and will be detrimental to his business both in the short and long term thereby threatening the viability of his store which provides key services and groceries to his local community in Bellshill.

The DRS will go live on 16 August 2023, with consumers needing to pay a 20p deposit at point of purchase.