Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993

31 Effect on initial notice of designation for inheritance tax purposes and applications for designation.E+W

(1)A notice given under section 13 shall be of no effect if on the relevant date the whole or any part of—

(a)the specified premises, or

(b)any property specified in the notice under section 13(3)(a)(ii),

is qualifying property.

(2)For the purposes of this section the whole or any part of the specified premises, or of any property specified as mentioned in subsection (1), is qualifying property if—

(a)it has been designated under section 31(1)(b), (c) or (d) of the M1Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (designation and undertakings relating to conditionally exempt transfers), whether with or without any other property, and no chargeable event has subsequently occurred with respect to it; or

(b)an application to the Board for it to be so designated is pending; or

(c)it is the property of a body not established or conducted for profit and a direction has been given in relation to it under section 26 of that Act (gifts for public benefit), whether with or without any other property; or

(d)an application to the Board for a direction to be so given in relation to it is pending.

(3)For the purposes of subsection (2) an application is pending as from the time when it is made to the Board until such time as it is either granted or refused by the Board or withdrawn by the applicant; and for this purpose an application shall not be regarded as made unless and until the applicant has submitted to the Board all such information in support of the application as is required by the Board.

(4)A notice given under section 13 shall cease to have effect if, before a binding contract is entered into in pursuance of the notice, the whole or any part of—

(a)the specified premises, or

(b)any property specified in the notice under section 13(3)(a)(ii),

becomes qualifying property.

(5)Where a notice under section 13 ceases to have effect by virtue of subsection (4) above—

(a)the nominee purchaser shall not be liable for any costs under section 33; and

(b)the person who applied or is applying for designation or a direction shall be liable—

(i)to the qualifying tenants by whom the notice was given for all reasonable costs incurred by them in the preparation and giving of the notice; and

(ii)to the nominee purchaser for all reasonable costs incurred in pursuance of the notice by him or by any other person who has acted as the nominee purchaser.

(6)Where it is claimed that subsection (1) or (4) applies in relation to a notice under section 13, the person making the claim shall, at the time of making it, furnish the nominee purchaser with evidence in support of it; and if he fails to do so he shall be liable for any costs which are reasonably incurred by the nominee purchaser in consequence of the failure.

(7)In subsection (2)—

(a)paragraphs (a) and (b) apply to designation under section 34(1)(a), (b) or (c) of the M2Finance Act 1975 or section 77(1)(b), (c) or (d) of the M3Finance Act 1976 as they apply to designation under section 31(1)(b), (c) or (d) of the M4Inheritance Tax Act 1984; and

(b)paragraphs (c) and (d) apply to a direction under paragraph 13 of Schedule 6 to the Finance Act 1975 as they apply to a direction under section 26 of that Act of 1984.

(8)In this section—

• “the Board” means the Commissioners of Inland Revenue;

• “chargeable event” means—

  (a)

  any event which in accordance with any provision of Chapter II of Part II of the M5Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (exempt transfers) is a chargeable event, including any such provision as applied by section 78(3) of that Act (conditionally exempt occasions); or

  (b)

  any event which would have been a chargeable event in the circumstances mentioned in section 79(3) of that Act (exemption from ten-yearly charge).