Trustee not assessable under wealth-tax representative provision where trust property was held for beneficiaries, not on their behalf.

A trustee holding trust property under a duly executed trust deed was considered outside the representative assessment machinery of Section 21 of the Wealth-tax Act for the relevant valuation dates. Section 21 applies where assets are held on behalf of another person, and the liability is co-extensive with that person's liability. A trustee, however, is the legal owner of the trust property and holds it for the benefit of the beneficiaries, not on their behalf; the two expressions are not synonymous. The later amendment adding "for the benefit of" did not apply to the assessment years in question. The trustee was therefore not assessable to wealth-tax under Section 21.

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Issues: Whether a trustee holding trust property under a duly executed trust deed could be assessed to wealth-tax under Section 21 of the Wealth-tax Act for the relevant valuation dates.

Analysis: Section 21 applies where assets are held on behalf of another person and contemplates a representative assessment co-extensive with the liability of the person on whose behalf the assets are held. A trustee, however, is the legal owner of the trust property and holds it for the benefit of the beneficiaries, not on their behalf. The expressions "on behalf of" and "for the benefit of" are not synonymous. Since the beneficiaries were not owners of the trust corpus and the trustee did not hold the assets on their behalf, the representative machinery of Section 21 could not be invoked. The later amendment introducing the words "for the benefit of" did not govern the assessment years in question.

Conclusion: The trustee was not assessable to wealth-tax under Section 21 of the Wealth-tax Act.

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