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Issues:
1. Inclusion of gifted amounts in deceased's estate under section 10 of the E.D. Act. 2. Inclusion of the value of share in immovable properties gifted by the deceased in his estate under section 10 of the E.D. Act. Analysis: The deceased gifted his immovable property and shares in other properties to family members. The rent received from these properties was divided among the donees. The deceased also gifted cash amounts to his sons and grandson. The Asst. Controller of Estate Duty included the value of all gifted property in the deceased's estate under section 10 of the E.D. Act, stating that the deceased had not entirely excluded himself from the possession and enjoyment of the gifts. This decision was upheld by the Appellate Controller. The Appellate Tribunal disagreed with the Asst. Controller's decision. Regarding the cash gifts, the Tribunal held that the sons obtained an actionable claim once the sums were deposited with the firm, and the deceased did not retain possession or beneficial enjoyment of the gifted amounts. The Tribunal also found that the donees had exclusive possession and enjoyment of the immovable properties, as the rents were credited to their joint accounts and distributed among them. The Tribunal concluded that section 10 of the E.D. Act was not applicable to either the cash gifts or the gifts of immovable property. The High Court referred to a previous decision that clarified the application of section 10 in cases where the donor shares enjoyment of the gifted property with a firm in which they are a partner. The Court agreed with the Tribunal's findings, stating that the sons became creditors of the firm by allowing it to use the gifted properties. For the immovable properties, the Court noted that the donees had exclusive possession and enjoyment, receiving rents in their own right. Consequently, the Court answered both questions in the negative, ruling against the Revenue and directing them to pay the costs of the reference.
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