2003 (3) TMI 27

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.... in the circumstances of the case, and in the light of the decision of the Kerala High Court in Indira Devi [1998] KLJ (Taxman) 352, the Tribunal is right in law in arriving at the findings and the conclusion reached in paragraphs 5 and 6 of its order? (3) Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, is not the gift exigible to gift-tax and the assessee entitled only to an exemption under section 5(1)(vii) of the Gift-tax Act?" The brief facts necessary for decision of this case are as follows. The respondent-assessee is a goldsmith. He gave 51 sovereigns to his daughter, Jayalakshmi, at the time of her marriage, the value of which came to Rs. 73,174. Pursuant to a notice issued by the Gift-tax Officer, the assessee fil....

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....to the marriage of the daughter alone, that can be roped within the purview of the said section and that any gift given to the daughter at the time of marriage cannot be included. Learned counsel appearing for the assessee, on the other hand, submits that reasonable expenses of and incidental to marriage provided in section 3(b)(ii) of the Adoption Act necessarily includes gold ornaments, given at the time of marriage of the daughter for being worn by her on the occasion of the marriage. Counsel also submitted that it is customary among Hindus to give gold ornaments to the daughter on the occasion of the marriage, which is a necessary expense to be incurred by the father according to his capacity, and therefore, the giving of gold orname....

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....ance from their father. Similarly, the obligation of the father to maintain a daughter, who is unmarried, extends, in so far as she is unable to maintain herself, to her marriage. Maintenance provided in section 20 also takes in reasonable expenses of and incidental to her marriage. Admittedly, the assessee gave 51 sovereigns to his unmarried daughter, at the time of her marriage. The question is as to whether this gift of 51 sovereigns to the unmarried daughter can be treated as a reasonable expense of or incidental to her marriage. Ordinarily, so far as the father is concerned, when a daughter is given in marriage, as per the custom prevailing in every community, be it Hindus, Christians or Muslims, there is an obligation to give gold orn....