Statutory time-bar under the Estate Duty Act prevails over related succession proceedings and Controller certification requirements.

Section 73A of the Estate Duty Act was construed as an absolute bar on proceedings for levy of estate duty after the prescribed five-year period, including proceedings connected with grant of representation or a succession certificate under section 56. The phrase "under this Act" was read broadly, and section 59 was treated as reinforcing the statutory time-bar rather than creating an exception. A literal reading of section 56 that would still require a Controller's certificate after limitation had expired was rejected as inconsistent with the scheme and object of the Act. The harmonious construction applied preserved the bar and denied any override by procedural requirements.

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Issues: Whether section 73A of the Estate Duty Act, 1953 barred proceedings connected with grant of representation or succession certificate under section 56 after expiry of five years from the date of death.

Analysis: Section 73A was construed as an imperative and comprehensive bar against commencement of any proceeding for levy of estate duty after the prescribed period. The expression "under this Act" was treated as wide enough to include proceedings connected with section 56, and section 59 was read as reinforcing, not diluting, that bar. A literal reading of section 56 that would require a certificate from the Controller even when initiation of proceedings was time-barred was rejected as producing an impossible and unintended result. The Court preferred a harmonious construction that preserved the statutory bar and gave effect to the object of the Act.

Conclusion: Section 73A applies to proceedings under section 56, and the requirement of a Controller's certificate cannot override the statutory bar after five years.

Ratio Decidendi: A statutory time-bar against commencement of proceedings for levy of estate duty must be given full effect, and related procedural requirements in another provision cannot be construed to create an exception unless the statute expressly so provides.

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