Ex gratia grant to named family beneficiaries was outside the dutiable estate under estate duty principles.

An ex gratia grant paid under Government instructions to specified family members of personnel who died in an air crash while on duty was treated as outside the dutiable estate. The payment was payable only to named beneficiaries and did not form a vested asset of the deceased. Applying estate duty principles, it was neither property in which the deceased had a beneficial interest capable of disposition during life nor property passing on death for estate duty purposes. The grant was therefore not includible in the estate, and the Revenue's request for reference was rejected.

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Issues: Whether the ex gratia grant of Rs. 1 lakh paid to the specified family members of the deceased was includible in the dutiable estate for estate duty purposes.

Analysis: The payment was made under Government instructions as an ex gratia grant to specified family members of personnel dying in an air crash while on duty. The amount was payable only to the named beneficiaries and not as a vested asset of the deceased. On the principles applied in the cited estate duty decisions, such a payment did not constitute property in which the deceased had a beneficial interest capable of disposition during life, nor property passing on death within the meaning of the estate duty charging provisions.

Conclusion: The ex gratia grant was not includible in the estate of the deceased, and the Revenue's request for reference was rejected.

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