Strict construction of expenditure tax law barred liability for an estate where death predated the Act's commencement.

The Expenditure-tax Act, 1957 was held to apply prospectively from 1 April 1958 and not to a person who had died before its commencement. Sections 3 and 18 were construed strictly: no clear language or necessary implication extended expenditure-tax liability to the estate of a pre-commencement deceased person, and the provision for tax payable by legal representatives was limited to deaths occurring after the Act came into force. On that basis, notice issued under section 13(2) to the executors was without jurisdiction and void, and the executors were not liable for the deceased's expenditure-tax.

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Issues: Whether the notice issued under section 13(2) of the Expenditure-tax Act, 1957, could validly be served on the executors of a person who had died before the Act came into force, and whether sections 3 and 18 fastened liability for expenditure-tax on the estate of such a deceased person.

Analysis: The charge under section 3(1) of the Expenditure-tax Act, 1957, though related to expenditure incurred in the previous year, was imposed only from 1 April 1958 and operated prospectively against persons within the charging provision. The Act contained no express words or necessary intendment making it applicable to a person already dead before commencement. Section 18, which deals with tax of deceased persons payable by legal representatives, was held to operate only where the death occurs after the Act comes into force, and could not be extended by implication to deaths preceding commencement. In taxing statutes, liability must be shown in clear language and cannot be created by rewriting the provision.

Conclusion: The notice under section 13(2) was without jurisdiction and void in law. The challenge succeeded, and the executors were held not liable under the Act in respect of the deceased's expenditure incurred before his death.

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