### Estate Duty Ordinance 《遺產稅條例》

25. Notification of interest of deceased person in bank or business undertaking
(1) Where a deceased person had at the date of his death any interest, whether as partner, depositor or creditor, in any bank or business undertaking within Hong Kong, the bank or business undertaking, or, in the case of a bank or business undertaking which is not a body corporate, the person having the management thereof, shall, within one month from the date of first receiving information of either his interest or the death of such deceased person, whichever shall be the later, notify the Commissioner of such death and of the extent of the interest of the deceased in the bank or business undertaking, and in default of such notification as aforesaid a penalty at level 2 shall be recoverable from the bank or business undertaking, or the owner thereof in the case or an unincorporated body. (Amended 31 of 1990 s. 10; L.N. 338 of 1995)
(2) Where any business undertaking is carried on in a firm name the penalty prescribed by this section shall also be deemed to be due from the firm and may be recovered in an action against the firm in the firm name.
(3) In any proceedings for the recovery of the penalty prescribed by this section, the onus of proving that he has not rendered himself liable to the penalty shall be on the person, company or firm from whom it is sought to recover it.
(Replaced 29 of 1970 s. 6)

26. Executor’s accounts
At any time or times after the date of the probate or letters of administration, it shall be lawful for the Commissioner, by notice in writing sent to an executor at his last-known address, to require him to deliver to the Commissioner a statement in writing (which statement in writing shall be supported by a statutory declaration if the Commissioner shall so require) containing the names and addresses of all persons who were and are beneficially interested in the estate of the deceased, together with the respective dates on which such persons respectively became so interested and the extent of their respective interests, and also all such particulars in regard to such persons or any of them as the Commissioner may from time to time require, and the executor shall, within 2 months from the date of the service of such notice at such address, deliver the said statement to the Commissioner and shall verify the same to his satisfaction within the further period of one month, and in default the executor shall be personally liable on summary conviction to a fine at level 3 or to imprisonment for 6 months, unless he can prove to the satisfaction of the magistrate that his default was due to circumstances not under his control.
(Amended L.N. 338 of 1995)

### Estate Duty Ordinance 《遺產稅條例》

27. Power to reduce penalty and duty
The Commissioner may in his discretion remit or reduce any penalty or the interest on any duty and he may reduce any duty chargeable under this Ordinance, provided that such duty is not reduced below the amount or rate, as may be applicable, set out in the applicable Part of Schedule 1.
(Amended 47 of 1962 s. 10; 27 of 1996 s. 12; 21 of 2005 s. 15)

28. Power to make rules, etc.
Subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury may make such rules, prescribe such forms and generally do such things as he thinks expedient for regulating the practice under this Ordinance. The powers conferred by this section shall include a power to prescribe fees and charges in respect of affidavits for the Commissioner.
(Amended 27 of 1996 s. 13; L.N. 106 of 2002)

29. Presumption as to shares standing in the name of the deceased
(1) If the registered owner of any share on a share register which is by law required to be kept within Hong Kong dies, such shares shall for the purposes of this Ordinance be deemed to be part of the estate of the deceased, unless the executor of the deceased proves to the satisfaction of the Commissioner that such share did not form part of the estate of the deceased at his death. (Amended 29 of 1970 s. 7; 31 of 1990 s. 10)
(2) An appeal to the Court of First Instance as under section 22 shall lie from any decision of the Commissioner under subsection (1). (Amended 25 of 1998 s. 2)

### Estate Duty Ordinance 《遺產稅條例》

30. Relief in the case of certain settlements
(1) If estate duty has already been paid in respect of any settled property since the date of the settlement, upon the death of one of the parties to a marriage, no estate duty shall be payable on the death of the other party to the marriage unless such person was at the time of his or her death or had been at any time during the continuance of the settlement competent to dispose of such property.
(2) For the purposes of this section, the term settlement (授產契) means any deed, will, agreement for a settlement, or other instrument, or any number of instruments, whether made before or after or partly before and partly after the commencement* of this Ordinance, under or by virtue of which instrument or instruments any property, or any estate or interest in any property, stands for the time being limited to or in trust for any persons by way of succession, and the term settled property (已授財產) means the property comprised in a settlement.
[cf. 1894 c. 30 s. 5(2) U.K.; 1914 c. 10 s. 14 U.K.] Editorial Note:
* Commencement date: 26 February 1932.

### Estate Duty Ordinance 《遺產稅條例》

31. Relief in respect of quick succession where property consists of leasehold property or a business
Where the Commissioner is satisfied that estate duty has become payable on any property consisting of leasehold property or a business (not being a business carried on by a company), or any interest in leasehold property or such a business, passing upon the death of any person, and that subsequently within 5 years estate duty has again become payable on the same property or any part thereof passing on the death of the person to whom the property passed on the first death, the amount of estate duty payable on the second death (if the death occurs on or after 27 February 1931), in respect of the property so passing shall be reduced as follows—
(a) where the second death occurs within 1 year of the first death, by 50 per cent;
(b) where the second death occurs within 2 years of the first death, by 40 per cent;
(c) where the second death occurs within 3 years of the first death, by 30 per cent;
(d) where the second death occurs within 4 years of the first death, by 20 per cent;
(e)  where the second death occurs within 5 years of the first death, by 10 per cent:

Provided that where the value, on which the duty is payable, of the property on the second death exceeds the value, on which the duty was payable, of the property on the first death, the latter value shall be substituted for the former for the purpose of calculating the amount of duty on which the reduction under this section is to be calculated.[cf. 1914 c. 10 s. 15 U.K.]

32. Reduction of full amount of duty where the margin above the limit of value is small
The amount of estate duty payable on an estate at the rate applicable thereto under the scale of rates of duty shall, where necessary, be reduced so as not to exceed the highest amount of duty which would be payable at the next lower rate, with the addition of the amount by which the value of the estate exceeds the value on which the highest amount of duty would be so payable at the lower rate.
[cf. 1914 c. 10 s. 13(1) U.K.]