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Issues Involved:
1. Inclusion of sums payable under the Parry & Company Ltd. Staff Pension and Insurance Scheme in the principal value of the estate. 2. Applicability of sections 5, 6, and 15 of the Estate Duty Act, 1953. Issue-wise Detailed Analysis: 1. Inclusion of sums payable under the Parry & Company Ltd. Staff Pension and Insurance Scheme in the principal value of the estate: The primary question referred to the court was whether the sums payable under the Parry & Company Ltd. Staff Pension and Insurance Scheme should be included in the principal value of the estate of the deceased, Mr. Killick, who was a senior staff official of Parry & Company Ltd. The scheme was created to provide pensions or annuities to employees or their dependants. Mr. Killick had joined the scheme and upon his death, his widow became entitled to a pension. The Assistant Controller of Estate Duty included this pension's actuarial value in the estate's principal value, citing sections 6 and/or 15 of the Estate Duty Act, 1953. 2. Applicability of sections 5, 6, and 15 of the Estate Duty Act, 1953: The Assistant Controller initially based the inclusion on sections 6 and 15 of the Estate Duty Act. Section 6 pertains to property the deceased was competent to dispose of at the time of death, while section 15 deals with annuities or interests purchased or provided by the deceased. The Appellate Controller upheld the assessment under section 6, but the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal later ruled that section 6 was not applicable and supported the assessment under section 15 instead. Analysis under Section 15: Section 15 states: "Any annuity or other interest, purchased or provided by the deceased, either by himself alone or in concert or by arrangement with any other person shall be deemed to pass on his death to the extent of the beneficial interest accruing or arising, by survivorship or otherwise, on his death." The court considered whether the pension provided by the employer falls within this scope. It was determined that since Mr. Killick had joined the scheme and the premiums were paid by the company on his behalf, the arrangement was an interest provided by him in concert with the employer. The premiums paid by the employer were treated as paid on behalf of the deceased, making the policy effectively belong to him. Thus, the pension benefits were deemed to pass on his death under section 15. Distinguishing from In re. J. Bibby & Sons Ltd.: The accountable person's counsel cited the case of In re. J. Bibby & Sons Ltd., where the pension scheme was deemed discretionary and not enforceable by the beneficiaries, thus not attracting estate duty. However, the court distinguished the present case, noting that the Parry & Company Ltd. scheme provided enforceable rights to the beneficiaries, unlike the discretionary trust in the Bibby case. Therefore, the benefits under the Parry scheme were considered a beneficial interest provided by the deceased. Conclusion: The court concluded that the pensionary benefits under the Parry & Company Ltd. scheme constituted an interest in property passing on the death of Mr. Killick, as per section 15 of the Estate Duty Act. The Tribunal's decision was upheld, and the question was answered in the affirmative, favoring the revenue. The revenue was also awarded costs.
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