If when you are investigating an omission or undervaluation
it becomes clear that the taxpayer or agent did not make full
enquiries or did not complete their enquiries into as asset or
liability, you may wish to offer advice on the following lines to
the agents to help ensure compliance in the future.
‘The IHT 14 leaflet is good at outlining the sort of
enquiries that ought to be made. It is also worthwhile passing to
new clients as it helps them to understand that they have
particular statutory responsibilities to properly account for all
estate property.
Do not submit an account until all your enquiries are
complete. That means not just asking the questions but waiting for
the answers and following up your enquiries as necessary. If the
responses you get point to the possibility of additional assets
these too need to be followed up as do partial answers. Sometimes
enquiries are answered and the answer itself is then overlooked.
The message here is
know what enquiries you have raised;
check to see you have had satisfactory replies,
and
ensure the information is properly reflected in
the IHT400.’
