1978 (7) TMI 117 - AT - Income Tax

Summary

Issues:
- Interpretation of the Will in determining tax liability of the assessee as a beneficiary under the trust.
- Applicability of section 165 of the IT Act, 1961 in assessing income received by the assessee.
- Distinction between beneficiaries under the Will and beneficiaries under the trust.
- Double taxation concern regarding income derived from the trust.
- Assessment of beneficiaries in relation to chargeable and non-chargeable trust income.

Detailed Analysis:
The judgment pertains to eleven appeals by a non-resident assessee for the assessment years 1961-62 to 1965-66 and 1967-68 to 1972-73. The central issue revolves around the tax treatment of a sum received by the assessee as a beneficiary under the Will of her deceased husband, Mr. A.J. Davis. The Income Tax Officer (ITO) sought to tax this amount, contending that it was an annuity under the Will and not related to the trust corpus. The assessee argued that she received income as a beneficiary of the trust, mainly agricultural, and thus, section 165 of the IT Act applied. The Appellate Assistant Commissioner (AAC) upheld the assessment on the grounds that the assessee was a beneficiary under the Will, not the trust, and section 165 did not apply.

The appellate tribunal analyzed the Will's provisions to determine the nature of the assessee's entitlement. The Will directed the trustees to pay the assessee a monthly sum free of taxes until her death or remarriage. The tribunal emphasized that this direction was to the trustees, indicating the assessee's status as a beneficiary under the trust created by the deceased. The tribunal rejected the AAC's distinction between beneficiaries under the Will and the trust, asserting that the assessee was intended to benefit from the trust income. The tribunal highlighted that the assessee received payments from the trust income, which had been audited annually, and any losses were carried forward. This arrangement precluded double taxation of the same income.

Regarding the application of section 165, the tribunal noted that when beneficiaries were directly assessed, the section applied to apportion the taxable income proportionately between chargeable and non-chargeable trust income. Citing legal commentaries and precedents, the tribunal affirmed that beneficiaries should be assessed based on the proportion of income derived from chargeable sources. Consequently, the tribunal allowed the assessee's appeals, directing the Income Tax Officer to recompute assessable income only for years where beneficiaries were directly assessed, applying section 165. Assessments in the assessee's hands for years where trustees were assessed were to be canceled, ensuring fair taxation based on the trust's income composition.