Retained benefit under estate duty law requires actual donor enjoyment; contingent trustee remuneration clause did not attract inclusion.

Section 10 of the Estate Duty Act, 1953 applies only where the donor retains possession, enjoyment or benefit in the gifted property. A trust deed that unconditionally transferred shares for the benefit of the donor's grandson, without any reserved right or interest for the donor, did not satisfy that test. A clause allowing trustees to fix their own remuneration by unanimous resolution was merely contingent on a future act and, in any event, no resolution was passed and no remuneration was received. The corpus of the trust fund was therefore not includible in the deceased's estate.

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Issues: Whether the corpus of the trust fund settled under the trust deed was liable to be included in the estate of the deceased under section 10 of the Estate Duty Act, 1953.

Analysis: The trust deed transferred the shares unconditionally for the benefit of the donor's grandson, and the donor did not reserve any right or interest in the gifted property. The only relied-upon clause permitted the trustees, by unanimous resolution, to fix remuneration for themselves up to a stated maximum, but this depended on a future act of the trustees and did not make the settlement conditional. No resolution was in fact passed and no remuneration was received. On these facts, the element of retention of benefit by the donor, which is necessary to attract section 10, was absent.

Conclusion: The corpus of the trust fund was not includible in the estate of the deceased, and the question was answered in favour of the accountable person.

Ratio Decidendi: Section 10 of the Estate Duty Act, 1953 applies only where the donor retains possession, enjoyment, or benefit in the gifted property; a bare power in trustees to award contingent remuneration, without actual reservation or receipt of benefit by the donor, does not attract inclusion in the estate.

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