Estate duty notification relief under section 33(2) does not bar aggregation; exempt donations remain includible under section 34.

A notification issued under section 33(2) of the Estate Duty Act was treated as granting only the relief expressly stated in it, namely a limited exemption from estate duty, rather than a complete exclusion from the taxable estate. The analysis distinguished section 33(1), which removes specified property from the estate altogether, from section 33(2), which provides additional notified relief. Because section 34 and its Explanation require property exempted under section 33 to be included in aggregation, the donations bequeathed to approved institutions remained includible for aggregation and the exemption did not create a second, full exclusion.

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Issues: Whether donations bequeathed to approved institutions under a notification issued under section 33(2) of the Estate Duty Act were fully exempt from estate duty and also excluded from aggregation under section 34, or whether the exemption operated only for rate purposes.

Analysis: Section 33(1) grants total exemption to specified classes of property, which are not included at all in the property passing on death. Section 33(2), by contrast, empowers the Central Government to grant additional relief by notification in respect of a class of property or persons. The relevant notification used the expression that no estate duty shall be payable on the donations. Reading section 34 with its Explanation, property exempt from estate duty under section 33 is included for aggregation, while the duty leviable on the non-exempt estate is computed proportionately. The exemption under section 33(2) was therefore treated as a limited exemption tied to the rate computation and not as a second layer of complete exclusion from aggregation.

Conclusion: The donations were includible for aggregation under section 34, and the exemption under the notification did not confer a double exemption.

Final Conclusion: The assessee was not entitled to full exclusion of the donations from the estate duty computation, and the Revenue's view on aggregation and limited exemption was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: A notification issued under section 33(2) of the Estate Duty Act grants only the relief expressly provided by it, and property covered by such notification may still be included in aggregation under section 34 unless the statute or notification clearly excludes it altogether.

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