Notional partition for estate duty valuation includes the wife's equal share where partition between husband and sons applies.

For estate duty valuation under the Estate Duty Act, 1953, a deceased Hindu undivided family member's interest must be computed on the basis of a notional partition immediately before death. Applying that fiction, all persons entitled to a share on partition must be counted. Because the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 gives the wife a share equal to that of a son on partition between husband and sons, the joint family property had to be divided into three equal shares. The deceased's interest was therefore correctly assessed at one-third, and the assessee succeeded.

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Issues: Whether, for the purpose of estate duty under the Estate Duty Act, 1953, the deceased's coparcenary interest had to be computed on the footing of a notional partition by treating his wife as entitled to a share equal to that of a son.

Analysis: Section 39 of the Estate Duty Act, 1953 requires the value of a deceased's interest in joint family property to be ascertained by assuming a partition immediately before death. On such a notional partition, the members of the Hindu undivided family who are entitled to a share must be taken into account. In view of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, the wife, though not a coparcener in the ordinary sense, is entitled to a share equal to that of a son when a partition takes place between husband and sons. The joint family property was therefore liable to be treated as divisible into three equal shares.

Conclusion: The deceased's interest was rightly computed as one-third of the joint family property, and the question was answered in the affirmative in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: For estate duty valuation, the share of a deceased in Hindu undivided family property must be determined on the basis of a notional partition immediately before death, and where the wife would be entitled to an equal share on such partition, the property must be divided accordingly.

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