1996 (4) TMI 7 - SC - Wealth-tax

Father of the assessee made an application for liquidation of the debts - On the death of the father his estate was taken over by the court of wards which invested in Government securities out of the savings of the estate - the obligation of the son to pay off the debts contracted by his father is limited to the properties inherited by the son from his father- held that a decree obtained by the creditors could not be executed against these Government securities.

Summary

Issues:
1. Deduction of decretal debts in calculating net wealth.
2. Applicability of section 17 of the Wealth-tax Act for specific assessment years.

Analysis:

Issue 1: Deduction of Decretal Debts
The case involved the question of whether decretal debts of Rs. 30,00,000 and odd should be allowed as a deduction in calculating the net wealth of the assessee. The High Court ruled that the debts should indeed be allowed as a deduction. The High Court emphasized that the liability of the son to pay his deceased father's debts is restricted to the extent of the property inherited from the father. Therefore, the debts that could be satisfied from the inherited property were considered as "debts owed by the assessee." The Tribunal had initially rejected this argument, but the High Court disagreed and allowed the deduction of the decretal debts in the calculation of net wealth.

Issue 2: Applicability of Section 17 of the Wealth-tax Act
The second issue revolved around the applicability of section 17 of the Wealth-tax Act for specific assessment years. The High Court held that section 17 could not be applied for the assessment years 1957-58, 1958-59, and 1959-60, in light of the deduction allowed for the decretal debts. The assessee had argued that the decretal amount should be considered a debt owed by him and hence should be deducted from his assets. However, the Tribunal had previously dismissed this argument, stating that the assessee was not personally liable to pay the decretal debts, as the creditors could not proceed against the assessee personally for recovery of the dues.

In conclusion, the High Court's decision to allow the deduction of decretal debts in the calculation of net wealth and to reject the applicability of section 17 of the Wealth-tax Act for the specified assessment years was upheld. The court emphasized that the assessee's liability to pay his father's debts was limited to the inherited property, and since the creditors could not recover the dues from the assessee personally, the decretal debts could not be considered as debts owed by the assessee for wealth tax computation purposes.