Domicile determines estate duty on foreign movable property; residence in India alone did not establish an Indian domicile of choice.

Foreign movable property is excluded from estate duty unless the deceased was domiciled in India at death. Domicile, as incorporated through the Indian Succession Act, depends on domicile of origin, acquisition of a domicile of choice by fixed habitation plus clear intention to settle permanently, and continuation of the existing domicile until a new one is acquired. On the facts, the deceased had a foreign domicile of origin, her husband had not acquired an Indian domicile of choice, and her own residence in India and permit declaration did not prove an intention to make India her permanent home. The property was therefore not includible in the estate.

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Issues: Whether the deceased was domiciled in India at the time of her death so as to attract estate duty on movable property situated outside India.

Analysis: Under the Estate Duty Act, foreign movable property is excluded from the estate unless the deceased was domiciled in India at death. Domicile, by the statutory reference to the Indian Succession Act, is determined by the concepts of domicile of origin, acquisition of a new domicile by fixed habitation, and continuance of the existing domicile until another is acquired. The deceased's domicile of origin was outside India. On the evidence, her husband also retained his foreign domicile, since residence and business in India, without cogent proof of an intention to settle permanently, did not establish a domicile of choice in India. After his death, the deceased's own continued stay in India and the foreign-liquor-permit declaration did not prove an intention to make India her permanent home, especially in light of the explanations accepted on facts by the Tribunal.

Conclusion: The deceased was not domiciled in India at the time of her death. The foreign movable property was not includible in the estate for estate duty purposes.

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