Benami certificates and estate duty: property owned in substance by the deceased can be included in the taxable estate.

Certificates purchased by a deceased in the names of his minor sons were treated as property of the deceased where he remained the real owner and could deal with them until a release by the named holders or a competent court declaration. On that basis, National Savings Certificates and Postal Cash Certificates standing in benamidari names were treated as includible in the estate for estate duty purposes under the Estate Duty Act, 1953, because the property was regarded as passing on death within the statutory scheme. The Tribunal's earlier view was displaced by the governing Supreme Court authority on the point.

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Issues: Whether National Savings Certificates and Postal Cash Certificates purchased by the deceased in the names of his minor sons were includible in the deceased's estate for estate duty purposes.

Analysis: The deceased was treated as the real owner of the certificates. In the absence of a release from the named holders or a declaration by a competent court, the deceased remained the person competent to deal with the certificates, and the property was liable to estate duty under the Estate Duty Act, 1953. The Tribunal's reliance on the earlier view was displaced by the Supreme Court decision governing the point.

Conclusion: The certificates were includible in the estate of the deceased. The question referred was answered in the negative and against the accountable persons, in favour of the Revenue.

Ratio Decidendi: Property standing in the names of benamidars remains includible in the estate of the deceased where the deceased is found to be the real owner and the property passes on death within the meaning of the Estate Duty Act, 1953.

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