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The taxman has moved to ease red tape associated with the heritage property exemption for archives and undertakings under IHTA 1984, s 31(1)(a) and s 31(1)(aa).
An undertaking is expected to contain acceptable proposals for open public access – but the arrangements may need to be updated frequently unless the objects or collections are on long-term loan to a museum or gallery, or are in a property that is regularly open to the public.
The taxman has moved to ease red tape associated with the heritage property exemption for archives and undertakings under IHTA 1984, s 31(1)(a) and s 31(1)(aa).
An undertaking is expected to contain acceptable proposals for open public access – but the arrangements may need to be updated frequently unless the objects or collections are on long-term loan to a museum or gallery, or are in a property that is regularly open to the public.
The terms of the undertaking must usually be updated each time changes are made to the property’s circumstances. The Revenue hopes to ease the administrative nuisance by introducing a generic form of access provision.
The portion of the undertaking relating to access will read:
“(i) Open public access will be provided to… on a minimum of… days a year or comparable multiples thereof every two or three years and by appointment at all other reasonable times. We will notify HMRC in October of the proposed access arrangements, as appropriate, for the coming year to allow them to be advertised as set out at 3(d) below.
“(ii) We understand that the provision of access without the necessity of a prior appointment, which includes taking steps for advertising of that access and the prompt notification of those steps to HMRC, is a statutory requirement under s 31 of the 1984 Act and failure to secure public access without prior appointment will constitute non-observance of this undertaking in a material respect. In that event, a claim to inheritance tax will arise under s 32 of the 1984 Act.
“(iii) When not on display the… will be available either to an individual who would like to view any of the objects in connection with research or study, whether or not as part of an academic course, or to curators of appropriate public collections in the UK on loan for special exhibitions.
“(iv) To provide images of the paintings on request to curators of public exhibitions or directing them to a place where such image is available, and in either event notifying them that the paintings are available in accordance with but subject to the foregoing provisions of this paragraph 3(c). Any such images shall be provided without prejudice to any subsisting whether in the paintings or in the images themselves.”
Where the statutory requirements to provide access to archives are met by keeping them in a record office or library open to the public, applicants for conditional exemption might be asked to provide a financial contribution to meet the costs of preserving and cataloguing the material concerned and to ensure it is identifiable, retrievable and in a fit condition for members of the public to view.
More information can be found in the Revenue’s latest trusts and estates newsletter.
