Notional partition in Mitakshara HUF estate duty must include the son's wife when computing lineal descendants' shares.

For estate duty aggregation in a Mitakshara HUF, the deceased's interest must be determined on the basis of a notional partition. Applying that principle, the son's wife was a sharer in the smaller HUF headed by the deceased's son and could not be excluded when determining the lineal descendants' shares. The aggregation therefore could not be confined to the son and grandsons alone, and the taxable estate had to be recomputed on that basis. The assessee's computation was accepted for recomputation, and the assessment was set aside to the extent necessary to reflect the correct notional partition shares.

---

---

Issues: Whether, for aggregation under section 34(1)(c) of the Estate Duty Act, 1953, the share of the lineal descendants in a Hindu undivided family governed by Mitakshara law had to be determined on a notional partition so as to include the son's wife as a sharer, thereby affecting the extent of the deceased's interest ceasing on death.

Analysis: The dispute arose in computing the estate duty payable on the deceased's interest in HUF property. The applicable legal framework required the deceased's interest to be ascertained on the footing of a notional partition. In the cited authority, a similar family composition was considered and it was held that, for determining the lineal descendants in the smaller HUF headed by the deceased's son, the son's wife was entitled to a share equal to that of her son. Applying that principle, the aggregation could not be confined to the son and grandsons alone by excluding the son's wife from the notional partition.

Conclusion: The aggregation had to be recomputed on the basis that the son's wife was a sharer in the notional partition, and the assessee's computation was accepted for that purpose.

Final Conclusion: The assessment was set aside to the extent necessary for recomputation of the taxable estate in accordance with the governing principle on notional partition and lineal descendants' shares under the Estate Duty Act, 1953.

Ratio Decidendi: For estate duty aggregation in a Mitakshara HUF, the deceased's interest must be determined on the basis of a notional partition, and the lineal descendants' share includes the son's wife where the governing family structure so requires.

---