BALCHAND MALAIYA HUF Vs. COMMISSIONER OF WEALTH TAX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Jabalpur Bench, Jabalpur, has, at the instance of the applicant-assessee, referred the following question of law under Section 27(1) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957, for the opinion of this court :

(2.) THE assessee is a Hindu undivided family. THE case relates to the assessment years 1957-58 and 1958-59 for which the relevant dates are Diwali of 1956 and 1957, respectively. Shri Balchandra Malaiya, karta of the Hindu undivided family, made gifts of movable and immovable properties amongst his five sons, two of them were majors and other three were minors. He also made gifts of certain amounts to his daughters, one of whom had just attained majority and the other was minor. THEse gifts were evidenced by a gift deed dated December 5, 1955, and December 27, 1955. THE stand of the assessee was that the recipients of the gifts had become the owners of the property and, therefore, income from the properties should not be included in the hands of the Hindu undivided family. THE assessee also took an alternative stand that the gifts could be treated as allotted to the respective members of the Hindu undivided family by partial partition. This stand was also rejected and the claim for exclusion of the gift from the total wealth of the Hindu undivided family was rejected by the Wealth-tax Officer. THE appeal to the Appellate Assistant Commissioner and then to the Tribunal failed and hence, on the application of the assessee, the said question has been referred for the opinion of this court.

(3.) YET later, in Thamma Venkata Subbamma v. Thamma Rattamma, AIR 1987 SC 1775, it was observed that (page 1778) :