SAT PAL Vs. CONTROLLER OF ESTATE DUTY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE following question of law, at the instance of the accountable person, has been referred to us by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Amritsar (hereinafter referred to as "the Tribunal"), for opinion : " Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal is correct in holding that an amount of Rs. 40,000 received by the legal heir of the deceased from the Life Insurance Corporation under the double benefit scheme is liable to estate duty under the Estate Duty Act, 1953 ?

(2.) THE Assistant Controller of Estate Duty negatived the claim for exemption by pointing out that though the money received of Rs. 40,000 was not chargeable under Section 14 of the Estate Duty Act, 1955 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), it was, however, still liable to duty under Section 15 of the Act. The accountable person filed an appeal before the Appellate Controller of Estate Duty. The appeal was dismissed by the appellate authority, relying upon a Gujarat High Court judgment in Bharatkumar Manilal Dalal v. CED, [1975] 99 ITR 179.

(3.) THE accountable person had received a sum of Rs. 93,196 from the Life Insurance Corporation of India, out of which Rs. 40,000 was money payable under the personal accident insurance policy taken out by the deceased. The dispute is as to whether the sum of Rs. 40,000 received by the accountable person from the Life Insurance Corporation under the double benefit scheme due to death by accident is liable to estate duty under the Act or not.