Throwing self-acquired property into joint family hotchpot is not a transfer or gift under the Gift-tax Act.

A Hindu coparcener's unilateral act of throwing self-acquired property into the common hotchpot of the joint family does not amount to a transfer or gift under the Gift-tax Act, 1958. The doctrine of blending under Mitakshara law involves abandonment of separate rights and impressing the property with joint family character, without any donor-donee relationship or acceptance. Section 2(xxiv)(d) was read as requiring a bilateral or multilateral transaction, not a mere act of unilateral volition by the owner. Accordingly, the altered character of the property did not create a taxable transfer, and no gift-tax liability arose.

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Issues: Whether a Hindu coparcener's declaration throwing self-acquired property into the common stock of the joint family amounts to a transfer or gift liable to gift-tax under the Gift-tax Act, 1958.

Analysis: The doctrine of throwing property into the common hotchpot is peculiar to Mitakshara law and proceeds on the owner's unilateral volition to abandon separate rights and impress the property with the character of joint family property. Such an act does not involve a donor and donee, nor does it require acceptance. For section 2(xxiv)(d) to apply, the transaction must be entered into by one person with another and cannot be a mere unilateral act. The word "disposition" in section 2(xxiv) is read in context as referring to bilateral or multilateral dealings, not an act of abandonment by a single owner. Since the assessee merely altered the character of his property by his own volition, there was no transfer within the meaning of the Act and no gift arose.

Conclusion: The assessee's act did not amount to a transfer so as to attract the Gift-tax Act, 1958, and the question was answered in favour of the assessee.

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