Estate duty relief for later-paid probate court-fees must follow actual payment, not prior assessment finality.

Section 50 of the Estate Duty Act, 1953 gives a statutory reduction of estate duty for court-fees paid for probate, letters of administration or succession certificate, and the relief depends on actual payment rather than the timing of assessment. The High Court stated that no limitation period is prescribed in section 50, so additional court-fees paid after completion of estate duty assessment do not forfeit the substantive entitlement to relief. It further accepted the Board circular as binding on administering officers and rejected the view that section 61 was a bar to giving effect to the deduction. Relief was therefore available by way of estate duty adjustment or refund.

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Issues: Whether relief under section 50 of the Estate Duty Act, 1953 could be denied merely because additional court-fees for probate were paid after the estate duty assessment had been completed, and whether such relief was barred by section 61 of the Act.

Analysis: Section 50 creates a statutory obligation to reduce estate duty by the amount of court-fees paid under the relevant court-fees law for obtaining probate, letters of administration, or succession certificate. The provision does not prescribe any period of limitation, and the timing of the estate duty assessment does not defeat the substantive right to relief when further court-fees become payable later. The Court rejected the contrary view and treated the relief as dependent on the actual fact of payment of court-fees, not on whether the assessment had already been finalised. The Court also relied on the Board circular accepting this position, which was binding on officers administering the Act.

Conclusion: Relief under section 50 could not be refused on the ground that the assessment had already been completed or that section 61 was unavailable for rectification. The petitioner was entitled to refund of the additional court-fees amount by way of estate duty relief.

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