Estate Duty exemption in a joint family house is limited to the deceased's share, with descendants' share counted for aggregation.

In a joint family residential house, exemption under section 33(1)(n) of the Estate Duty Act applies only to the portion that actually passes on death, namely the deceased's share determined on a notional partition under section 39. The entire house is not exempt where only the deceased's interest passes. Because the exemption is confined to that share, the lineal descendants' interest in the same house remains relevant for aggregation under section 34(1)(c) when computing the rate of duty. The contrary view treating the whole property as exempt was rejected, and the Revenue's position was accepted.

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Issues: Whether, in the case of a joint family residential house, exemption under section 33(1)(n) of the Estate Duty Act, 1953 is confined to the deceased's share alone or extends to the entire house, and whether the share of the lineal descendants in such house is liable to be aggregated under section 34(1)(c) for rate purposes.

Analysis: The property passing on death was treated as the deceased's share in the Mitakshara coparcenary, determined on the basis of a partition immediately before death under section 39. The exemption in section 33(1)(n) was held to apply only to the portion of the joint family residential house that passed on death, namely the deceased's share, because the entire house did not pass on death. Once the deceased's share alone was exempted, the lineal descendants' share in the same house remained relevant for aggregation under section 34(1)(c) when computing the rate of duty. The contrary view, which treated the entire house as exempt, was rejected.

Conclusion: Exemption under section 33(1)(n) is limited to the deceased's share in the joint family residential house, and the value of the lineal descendants' share is includible in aggregation under section 34(1)(c). The answer is in favour of the Revenue and against the accountable person.

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