Estate duty instalments begin when payment becomes due under demand notice, not from the date of death.

Section 70(2) of the Estate Duty Act is construed as a beneficial fiscal provision, so the option to pay estate duty on immovable property in four yearly instalments runs from the date the duty becomes payable under the demand notice, or the statutory date under section 73(2), not from the deceased's date of death. The provision presupposes assessment and quantification before instalments can begin, and the liability arising on death under section 57(1) is distinct from the date of payment. On the separate question of stay, collection of estate duty relating to the jagir commutation amount was treated as a matter for the assessing authority's discretion under section 73(4), leaving the petitioner to seek relief there.

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Issues: (i) Whether the option under section 70(2) of the Estate Duty Act to pay estate duty on immovable property in four equal yearly instalments commences from the date of death of the deceased or from the date on which the duty becomes payable under the demand notice. (ii) Whether the Court should grant a stay against collection of estate duty relating to the jagir commutation amount pending the petitioner's appeal.

Issue (i): Whether the option under section 70(2) of the Estate Duty Act to pay estate duty on immovable property in four equal yearly instalments commences from the date of death of the deceased or from the date on which the duty becomes payable under the demand notice.

Analysis: Section 70(2) ties the first instalment to the date on which it is payable, and sections 73(1) and 73(2) show that estate duty becomes payable only when the demand notice specifies the time for payment, or, if no time is specified, on the statutory date fixed by section 73(2). Section 57(1) merely declares when the liability arises; it does not fix the date of actual payment. The instalment facility presupposes that the duty has been assessed and quantified, because the accountable person cannot pay in instalments until the amount payable is known. A construction linking the instalments to the date of death would defeat the statutory benefit where assessment takes time. Being a beneficial provision in a fiscal statute, section 70(2) was required to be construed liberally in favour of the taxpayer.

Conclusion: The first instalment under section 70(2) is payable from the date fixed in the demand notice under section 73(1), or the date statutorily fixed under section 73(2), and not from the date of death. The petitioner was entitled to pay the immovable property duty in four yearly instalments.

Issue (ii): Whether the Court should grant a stay against collection of estate duty relating to the jagir commutation amount pending the petitioner's appeal.

Analysis: The claim regarding the jagir commutation amount was already the subject of an appeal before the Appellate Controller, and the Court declined to examine the merits in the writ petition. The power to grant a stay of collection in such circumstances was treated as a matter within the discretion of the assessing authority under section 73(4), and the petitioner was left to approach that authority for appropriate relief.

Conclusion: No stay was granted by the Court in the writ petition on this aspect.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition succeeded on the instalment issue and failed on the request for judicial stay of collection regarding the jagir commutation amount, resulting in partial relief to the petitioner.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a fiscal statute grants a beneficial option to pay assessed duty in instalments, the instalment period runs from the date on which payment becomes due and quantified under the demand mechanism, not from the date on which the underlying liability first arises.

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