1971 (12) TMI 10 - HC - Income Tax

Court rules no passing of property on settlor's wife's death, rejects estate duty assessment.

The court ruled in favor of the assessee, determining that there was no passing of property upon the death of the settlor's wife as her interest had ... Estate Duty Act, 1953 – Trust – passing of property - Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, and on a proper interpretation of clause 8(a) of the deed of H. E. H. the Nizam's Pocket Money Trust, the value of the corpus of 20 units allotted to the deceased and the accumulations of income therefrom passed on the death of the deceased – since deceased had not interest in corpus or the income of trust property, there was no passing of property on the death Issues:Interpretation of trust deed provisions regarding the passing of property upon the death of a beneficiary for estate duty assessment.Analysis:The judgment pertains to the interpretation of a trust deed created by a late Nawab, settling 20 units of a trust fund for the benefit of a specific beneficiary. The issue arose when the Estate Duty authorities assessed the trust fund and accumulated income for estate duty upon the death of the settlor's wife, claiming that the property passed to the trustees. The primary question was whether the death of the settlor's wife triggered the passing of property, attracting estate duty.The court analyzed the provisions of the trust deed and the relevant estate duty laws, emphasizing that the settlor's wife held no interest in the trust property, and the actual beneficiary was the settlor's daughter. The court referred to Section 5 of the Estate Duty Act, which imposes duty on property passing upon death. The court highlighted that the term 'passes on the death' signifies an actual change in title or possession of the property occurring at the time of death.Various legal precedents were cited to elucidate the concept of property passing on death. The court referenced cases like Attorney-General v. Milne, Neville v. Inland Revenue Commissioners, and Adamson v. Attorney-General to expound on the notion of property passing on death. It was underscored that a mere change in interest from contingent to vested does not constitute a passing of property.In the present case, the court determined that the death of the settlor's wife did not alter the beneficiary's beneficial interest in the trust income. The court reasoned that the beneficiary's rights were unaffected by the death, as her interest had vested from the inception of the trust. Consequently, the court concluded that there was no passing of property upon the death of the settlor's wife, thereby rejecting the estate duty assessment.In conclusion, the court answered the referred question in the negative, ruling in favor of the assessee. The court awarded costs to the assessee and highlighted that no duty could be levied under the Estate Duty Act due to the absence of property passing on the death of the settlor's wife.