1990 (6) TMI 72

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....e only question of law referred to this court by the Tribunal in this case is : "Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, gift to the tune of Rs. 50,000 out of the gift made by the assessee on March 20, 1971, to Shri Rahul Kumar Sharma is exempt in terms of section 5(1)(viii) of the Gift-tax Act, 1958 ?" The assessee, Princess Harshad Kumari, gifted Rs. 1,00,000 to her hus....

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....section 5(1)(viii) was Rs. 1,00,000 in the earlier years and Rs. 50,000 after the amendment irrespective of whether the gift was on one occasion or several occasions and whether it was made to one and the same spouse or different spouses. The Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, however, allowed the assessee's second appeal. The Tribunal took the view that the expression "spouse in clause (viii), where ....

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....in the case of the husbands. The submission is without any merit. Section 5(1)(viii) of the Gift-tax Act reads thus : "5.(1) Gift-tax shall not be charged under this Act in respect of gifts made by any person - . . . (viii) to his or her spouse, subject to a maximum of rupees fifty thousand in value in the aggregate in one or more previous years, the expression 'spouse' in this clause, wh....

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....does not apply merely to Hindus. It applies to all castes and communities in India including Muslims. A Muslim can have more than one wife at one and the same time. There can also be a Hindu who is having more than one wife from before 1955, i.e., from before the passing of the Hindu Marriage Act. It is for this reason that the Legislature advisedly provided that the expression "spouse" in section....