Domicile of origin and estate duty: foreign movable assets remain taxable unless a clear change of domicile is proved.

Domicile of origin continues until a new domicile of choice is clearly acquired, and the burden lies on the person asserting abandonment of the original domicile. Mere long residence abroad is insufficient without a settled intention to make that country the permanent home. The note also explains that exemption for movable property situated outside India depends on the deceased not being domiciled in India at death. On the facts described, continued Indian ties and an ungranted citizenship application did not establish a change of domicile, so the Ceylon movable assets remained includible in the estate duty computation.

---

---

Issues: (i) Whether the deceased continued to be domiciled in India at the time of death or had acquired a domicile of choice in Ceylon. (ii) Whether the movable properties situated in Ceylon were exempt from inclusion in the principal value of the estate under the Estate Duty Act.

Issue (i): Whether the deceased continued to be domiciled in India at the time of death or had acquired a domicile of choice in Ceylon.

Analysis: Domicile of origin continues until a new domicile is clearly acquired, and the burden of proving abandonment of the original domicile lies on the person asserting it. Mere long residence in another country is insufficient unless accompanied by an intention to make that country the permanent home. The deceased had lived in Ceylon for many years, but he retained properties in India, frequently visited India, maintained marital and family ties in India, and made testamentary provision in favour of the wife in India. The application for citizenship in Ceylon, which was never granted during his lifetime, did not establish a clear and settled intention to abandon the domicile of origin.

Conclusion: The deceased did not acquire a domicile of choice in Ceylon and continued to be domiciled in India.

Issue (ii): Whether the movable properties situated in Ceylon were exempt from inclusion in the principal value of the estate under the Estate Duty Act.

Analysis: The exemption for movable property situated outside India depends on the deceased not being domiciled in India at the time of death. Since the deceased was held to be domiciled in India, the statutory condition for exclusion was not satisfied.

Conclusion: The movable properties in Ceylon were rightly included in the principal value of the estate and no exemption was available.

Final Conclusion: The reference was answered against the accountable person and in favour of the Revenue, confirming inclusion of the Ceylon movable assets in the estate duty computation.

Ratio Decidendi: A domicile of origin is not displaced unless there is clear evidence of a settled intention to abandon it and permanently reside elsewhere, and the burden of proving such change lies on the person asserting it.

---