Gift-tax exemption for foreign remittance turned on factual findings, with no referable question of law arising.

A non-resident's gift of foreign currency remitted from Dubai to Bombay was analysed under the Gift-tax Act exemption for gifts made outside India. The Tribunal treated the exemption question as one of fact, relying on bank advice, remittance certificates, an affidavit, and surrounding circumstances to conclude that the transfer was made by telegraphic remittance to the donee's account at her request, so no referable question of law arose. The separate dispute over whether the gift was Rs. 10 lakhs or Rs. 12 lakhs was also treated as purely factual, with no independent legal issue shown. The commentary states that findings based on appreciation of evidence do not, by themselves, create a referable question of law.

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Issues: (i) Whether the assessee's gift of foreign currency remitted from Dubai to Bombay was exempt under section 5(1)(ii)(a) of the Gift-tax Act, 1958 and whether the Tribunal's finding on that aspect gave rise to any referable question of law; (ii) Whether the amount of the gift was Rs. 10 lakhs or Rs. 12 lakhs and whether that controversy raised any referable question of law.

Issue (i): Whether the assessee's gift of foreign currency remitted from Dubai to Bombay was exempt under section 5(1)(ii)(a) of the Gift-tax Act, 1958 and whether the Tribunal's finding on that aspect gave rise to any referable question of law.

Analysis: The Tribunal relied on the bank advice, remittance certificates, affidavit of the donee, and surrounding circumstances to find that the assessee, a non-resident, remitted the amount from Dubai by telegraphic transfer to the donee's account in Bombay at her request. On that factual basis, it concluded that the gift took place outside India and was covered by the statutory exemption. The finding rested on appreciation of evidence and the legal contention that a gift deed was necessary was not accepted.

Conclusion: The finding of exemption was one of fact and did not give rise to any referable question of law; the proposed question was not answerable in favour of the Revenue.

Issue (ii): Whether the amount of the gift was Rs. 10 lakhs or Rs. 12 lakhs and whether that controversy raised any referable question of law.

Analysis: The Tribunal found no material to support the figure of Rs. 12 lakhs and accepted Rs. 10 lakhs as the gift amount. The record before the Court did not disclose any legal issue independent of that factual finding.

Conclusion: The amount was correctly treated as Rs. 10 lakhs for purposes of the reference, and no referable question of law arose on this issue.

Final Conclusion: The reference application failed because both proposed questions were factual in nature and did not justify a reference on any question of law.

Ratio Decidendi: A conclusion reached by the Tribunal on appreciation of evidence, where the record supports the factual finding and no legal principle is shown to be in issue, does not raise a referable question of law under the reference jurisdiction.

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