1990 (8) TMI 188
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....nd the document value came to Rs. 7,500. The assessee contended that some items of properties mentioned in the gift deeds were already in possession of Kudiyans as would be clear from the narration in the gift-deeds themselves and also in the schedules to the gift deeds ; that some items of properties were already in the possession of the three donees, gifts having been made orally in 1954 and, therefore, these items are to be excluded from the value of the gift. It was also contended that the gift deed disclosed the true value of the lands which were transferred. The learned Gift-tax Officer excluded the value of the lands that were in the possession of the Kudiyans but did not agree with the assessee's contention that certain properties w....
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....alidly only through document Nos. 653, 654 and 707 of 1957 when the same was duly executed and registered with the Sub-Registrar. Thus, he sustained the order of the Gift-tax Officer. 2. The assessee is in appeal before us. Shri K.N. Valsan, the learned Chartered Accountant, submitted that the authorities have not appreciated in the proper perspective the legal import of oral gifts made by a person belonging to Islamic faith. He referred to Section 129 of the Transfer of Property Act and submitted that the oral gifts made by a Mohamedan do not require registration. The very fact that the document executed in 1957 had in its recital the factum of oral gifts having been made and possession handed over to the donees in respect of certain pr....
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....nbsp; Extent of area (acres) ---------------------------------------------------------- 653/57 K. Avukoya Naha 87.86 654/57 K. Beepathumma 41.00 707/57 K. Mohammed Naha 115.34 ---------------------------------------------------------- The documents themselves speak of certain properties having been gifted in 1954 to the following extent : --------------------------------------------------- Name of donee &nbs....
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....ples of Mahomedan Law (Seventeenth Edition at page 143) is as follows : "A declaration in a deed of gift that possession has been given binds the heirs of the donor. But such a declaration is not conclusive and a recital in a deed of gift that possession has been given to a minor nephew (without the intervention of a father or guardian--Section 156) was on the facts held to be insufficient to support a gift as against the heirs of the donor." To the same effect is Section 421 in Tyabji on Muslim Law (4th Edition, page 393) : "From the donor's acknowledgement of having made a gift and delivered possession it may be presumed against the donor and persons claiming under him, that the gift was completed as acknowledged." Note (2) to....
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.... acres fell outside the provisions of the G.T. Act, which came into force only with effect from 1-4-1958. We would have certainly agreed with the learned Chartered Accountant in his submissions but for the decision of the jurisdictional High Court in the case of Makku Rawther's Children v. Manahapara Charayil : AIR 1972 Ker. 27 restricting the savings provided in section 129 to gifts made by Mahomedans for pious or religious purposes and not for secular purposes. At para 19 thereof the Single Judge of the High Court laid down as follows : " 19. Although the various decisions I have referred to relate to the competence of the Legislature, I see no difference in principle when the restriction is enjoined by Part III. To save the life of a ....
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....e was no gift of those properties in 1954. As those properties were included in the documents which were registered on 1-6-1957, we hold that they also stood conveyed to the donees only with effect from the date of registration which fell within the previous year relevant to the assessment year 1958-59. Therefore, gift tax was rightly levied on the above properties also. As for the valuation of the property, we uphold the order of the first appellate authority, as no evidence was produced to show that the value of the property determined by the GTO was exessive or unreasonable. We uphold the contention of the learned Chartered Accountant for the assessee that the assessees are entitled to deduct the amount of stamp-duty paid on the gifts un....
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