Estate Duty relief under section 50 extends to later-paid probate duty and is not limited to rectification.

Section 50 of the Estate Duty Act is a beneficial deduction provision intended to give credit for probate duty paid in obtaining representation to an estate, and the word "paid" was construed to include duty actually discharged even after estate duty assessment. Relief was therefore not barred where probate duty, or additional probate duty on revision, became payable later. The claim under section 50 was also not confined to rectification under section 61, because it did not reopen the completed assessment but only worked out the consequential deduction and refund. Limitation under section 61 did not defeat the statutory relief, which remained available on its own terms.

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Issues: (i) Whether relief under section 50 of the Estate Duty Act could be granted where probate duty was paid after the estate duty assessment had been finalised, or where additional probate duty was paid later on the Collector's revision; (ii) whether such relief could be denied on the ground that the matter had to be treated only as a rectification under section 61 of the Estate Duty Act and was therefore time-barred.

Issue (i): Whether relief under section 50 of the Estate Duty Act could be granted where probate duty was paid after the estate duty assessment had been finalised, or where additional probate duty was paid later on the Collector's revision;

Analysis: Section 50 is a beneficial provision intended to give a set-off against estate duty for probate duty paid in obtaining representation to the estate. The word "paid" was construed in context as covering duty payable and actually discharged, whether before or after the estate duty assessment. A construction limiting relief only to cases where probate duty had already been paid before estate duty assessment would create an arbitrary distinction between similarly placed accountable persons and would frustrate the legislative purpose. The fact that the probate fee is subject to later revision under the court-fees law also showed that the amount may genuinely become payable only after the estate duty assessment.

Conclusion: Relief under section 50 was available even though probate duty, or additional probate duty, was paid after the estate duty assessment.

Issue (ii): Whether such relief could be denied on the ground that the matter had to be treated only as a rectification under section 61 of the Estate Duty Act and was therefore time-barred.

Analysis: A claim under section 50 was held not to reopen or rectify the completed estate duty assessment. The assessment remained intact, and the authority was only required to work out the consequential deduction and refund flowing from the statutory relief. Section 61, which deals with rectification of mistakes apparent from the record, was therefore not the exclusive route for obtaining relief under section 50. Even otherwise, one of the petitions was found to be within time on the alternative footing advanced by the petitioner.

Conclusion: The claim was not confined to section 61, and limitation under that provision did not defeat the statutory relief.

Final Conclusion: The accountable persons were entitled to the deduction and consequential refund under section 50 of the Estate Duty Act, and the writ petitions succeeded.

Ratio Decidendi: A beneficial statutory deduction must be construed to advance its purpose, and where the statute grants relief against duty already levied, the absence of a prescribed procedural mechanism does not permit denial of the relief or compel its confinement to rectification provisions.

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