54. Persons accountable may include trustees in certain cases.
(1)Where an interest limited to cease on a death within the meaning of section 11 after becoming an interest in possession is disposed of or determines wholly or partly then whatever the nature of the property in which the interest subsisted, the following persons shall be accountable for any estate duty payable on the death by virtue of that section (in addition to any persons accountable therefor apart form this section), that is to say.-(a)if the settlement under which the interest subsisted is in existence at the death, the trustees for the time being of that settlement; and(b)if it is not, the persons who were the last trustees of that settlement.(2)Where.-(a)the trustees of a settlement may become accountable for estate duty payable by virtue of section 11 in respect of any property; and(b)it is intended that the property or any part thereof shall cease to be comprised in the settlement;then if the trustees obtain from the Controller a certificate of the amount which in the opinion of the Controller may properly be treated as the prospective amount of the duty, and give the Controller all the information ad evidence required by the Controller in connection with the application for the certificate no person shall be accountable as trustee of the settlement for the duty to which the certificate relates to an amount in excess of the amount certified.(3)It is hereby declared that a person who may become accountable as trustee of a settlement for estate duty payable by virtue of section 11 on property which is or has been comprised in the settlement has a lien for the prospective amount of the duty and the costs in respect thereof on any property in his hands which is so comprised.Explanation. - References in this section to the prospective amount of any duty are to be taken as referring to the prospective amount of the duty on the assumption that it will become chargeable.
