BETTIAH ESTATE Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner in this writ application, namely, the Bettiah Estate under the court of wards, has obtained a rule from this court as to why the order dated February 16, 1973, passed by the Assistant Controller, Special Estate Duty-cum-Income-tax Circle (respondent No. 2), purported to be passed under Section 61 of the Estate Duty Act, 1953 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), rectifying some purported mistakes in the order of regular assessment made on February 17, 1968, a copy of which is annexure "1" and the consequent demand in pursuance of the above impugned order dated February 16, 1973, a copy of which is annexure "2", should not be quashed and cancelled. THE relevant facts are these i Smt. Janki Kuer, the Maharani of Bettiah Estate, died on November 27, 1954, when the estate was under the court of wards, Bihar. After her death a return was filed by the manager on February 14, 1958 (wrongly stated in the writ petition as February 11, 1958), in the office of the Assistant Controller (respondent No. 2) declaring the principal value of the properties owned and possessed by the late Maharani at Rs. 62,55,683 who made a provisional assessment on the same day on the basis of the declared principal value raising a demand of Rs. 19,03,523 payable by February 28, 1958. This demand, however, was not paid according to the time fixed under the provisional order and was paid on three different dates by instalments of Rs. 2,63,523 on March 31, 1958, Rs. 16,05,806 on November 8, 1958, and the balance of Rs. 34,194 on November 19, 1958.

(2.) THE provision for making a provisional assessment is contained in Section 57 of the Act which empowers the Controller to make in a summary manner a provisional assessment of the estate duty payable by the person delivering the account on the basis of the account delivered, at any time I after the receipt of the account by him under Sub-section (2) of Section 57 of the Act. Upon making of the provisional assessment, the assessee has to pay to the Controller, or furnish security to his satisfaction for the payment of the estate duty, in accordance with the provisional assessment and the Controller thereupon is to grant him a certificate that such duty has been or will be paid or that none is due, as the case may be, in respect of the property mentioned in the certificate. No appeal has been provided against the order of provisional assessment and the amount paid in pursuance of the provisional assessment is to be deemed to have been paid towards the regular assessment as and when made under Section 58 of the Act. In this case, the regular assessment was completed on February 17, 1968, on the principal value of Rs. 1,25,39,657 thereby creating a demand of Rs. 44,17,113 (wrongly mentioned in the copy of the order, annexure"1", as Rs. 43,19,855).

(3.) IN the result, this application succeeds and the impugned order contained in annexure "1" and the demand (annexure "2") are hereby quashed and cancelled. The petitioner will be entitled to costs. Hearing fee, Rs. 150 only.