Inheritance Tax Act 1984 section 256

Regulations about accounts, etc.

Section 256 gives HMRC (formerly the Board of Inland Revenue) the power to make regulations, by statutory instrument, governing the delivery of inheritance tax accounts and related administrative matters.

• HMRC may make regulations dispensing with the requirement to deliver inheritance tax accounts in specified cases, while still requiring those persons to provide specified information or documents instead.
• Regulations may discharge property from an Inland Revenue charge and release persons from further tax claims, subject to any restrictions specified in the regulations.
• Regulations may modify the rules on transfers reported late where the requirement to deliver an account has been dispensed with.
• Before making regulations, HMRC must consult the Lord Chancellor (for England and Wales), the Scottish Ministers (for Scotland), or the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland (for Northern Ireland), and all regulations are made by statutory instrument subject to annulment by the House of Commons.