https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=27476 A legally recoverable debt existing on the date of death forms part of the deceased's estate for estate duty purposes and passes to the heirs immediately on death. The deduction provisions do not permit exclusion of such a debt merely because it is later treated as irrecoverable, the debtor is not traced, no recovery action is taken, or the amount is subsequently written off as a bad debt. The relevant test is the debt's character at the date of death, not later recovery difficulties. Accordingly, the debt remained includible in the principal value of the estate and taxable as part of the deceased's property. en-us Tue, 21 Feb 1984 00:00:00 +0530 Sat, 13 Feb 2010 11:03:35 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=27476 A legally recoverable debt existing on the date of death forms part of the deceased's estate for estate duty purposes and passes to the heirs immediately on death. The deduction provisions do not permit exclusion of such a debt merely because it is later treated as irrecoverable, the debtor is not traced, no recovery action is taken, or the amount is subsequently written off as a bad debt. The relevant test is the debt's character at the date of death, not later recovery difficulties. Accordingly, the debt remained includible in the principal value of the estate and taxable as part of the deceased's property. Case-Laws Income Tax Tue, 21 Feb 1984 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=27476