Gift acceptance in immovable property transfers must be proved; registered deeds and mutation alone may not sustain gift-tax.

Acceptance by the donee was treated as an essential element of a valid gift of immovable property under the Gift-tax Act and the general law of transfer. Mutation in revenue records was only one circumstance and did not by itself prove completion of the gift. On the evidence, clear acceptance by the daughter was not established, and the donor's continued possession together with the cancellation deeds indicated that the transfer was never completed as a real gift. The gift-tax levy could not be sustained merely on registered deeds and revenue entries in the absence of proved acceptance and concurrence by the donee.

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Issues: Whether the gifts of immovable property were complete and accepted by the donee so as to attract gift-tax, and whether the subsequent cancellation deeds could defeat the levy.

Analysis: The transfer had to be tested in the light of the Gift-tax Act together with the general law of transfer of property. Acceptance by the donee was treated as an essential ingredient, and mutation in revenue records was only a circumstance to be weighed with the other evidence. The evidence on record did not satisfactorily establish that the daughter had applied for mutation or had consciously accepted the gift, while the assessee's continued possession and the cancellation deeds supported the plea that the transaction was never completed as a real gift. In the absence of clear acceptance and concurrence by the donee, the levy could not be sustained merely on the basis of registered deeds and revenue entries.

Conclusion: The gifts were not proved to be complete or accepted, and the gift-tax assessment was not sustainable.

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