SDLTM82775 - Compliance: Concluding an enquiry

Contract Settlements: Expected offer: Means - Deceased purchaser

The operation of FA03/SCH14/PARA4 may be affected by Article 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998. (This text has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)

A penalty determination for penalties incurred by a person who has died may be made on the personal representatives. Payment will come from the deceased's estate.

Where the deceased’s estate cannot fund a penalty, it may be possible to establish a claim against persons who have benefited by way of

• gifts
• legacies
• distributions
• holding a joint interest with the deceased (for example a joint bank account)

However, action in such cases raises difficult legal points. An opinion concerning such matters should not be expressed without consultation with (This text has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)

It is sometimes claimed that

• the payment of an amount in respect of penalties out of the funds of the estate would be to the financial detriment of beneficiaries
• the beneficiaries are innocent and in no way responsible for the offences which have been committed and therefore interest and penalties should be waived or modified

No regard should be paid to any such suggestion.

Not only was the estate partly built up out of money which should have been paid in taxes, but also the deceased, by committing offences, had rendered themselves liable to penalties. Had proceedings been taken before their death, the estate would have been reduced.

Where the estate funds are limited, regard should be taken to the financial position of the deceased’s widow or widower and other immediate dependants, if apart from the estate funds, they are without adequate income or means of livelihood.