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Issues:
1. Interpretation of estate duty exemption for donations made to institutions. 2. Whether donations to approved institutions should be aggregated under the Estate Duty Act. 3. Analysis of Section 33(2) and Section 34 of the Estate Duty Act. Issue 1: Interpretation of estate duty exemption for donations made to institutions The accountable person appealed against the confirmation of an addition of Rs. 9,340 for shares purportedly owned by the deceased, which was dismissed as not pressed. The main issue raised was regarding the exemption from estate duty in respect of a sum of Rs. 83,185 bequeathed to institutions under Section 10(22) of the IT Act. The appeal was filed before the Tribunal challenging the decision of the CED(A) who held that only properties mentioned in Section 34(1)(A) of the ED Act were fully exempted, and all other properties had to be included in the property passing on death for duty calculation purposes. Issue 2: Whether donations to approved institutions should be aggregated under the Estate Duty Act The crux of the matter was whether donations made to approved institutions should be aggregated under Section 34(1)(A) of the ED Act. The CED(A) argued that the relief provided in the notification for donations made to educational institutions should be interpreted as 'exemption restricted to calculating the rate' and not as a double exemption. The departmental representative pointed out that Section 33(2) provided relief in addition to the relief under Section 33(1) and that such relief was not a total exemption but a relief in calculating the rate of duty. Issue 3: Analysis of Section 33(2) and Section 34 of the Estate Duty Act The Tribunal analyzed Section 33(1) and Section 33(2) of the ED Act, which enumerate properties exempt from estate duty and provide for additional relief in certain cases. The Tribunal also delved into Section 34, which deals with aggregation of properties passing on death. It was concluded that the exemption allowed by the notification under Section 33(2) was in respect of the rate of estate duty and not a total exemption like properties listed in Section 33(1). Therefore, the donations made to approved institutions were to be included for aggregation under Section 34(1)(A) of the ED Act. The Tribunal upheld the interpretation of the CED(A) and dismissed the appeal of the accountable person. In conclusion, the Tribunal affirmed that the relief granted in the notification for donations to institutions was related to the rate of estate duty and not a total exemption, leading to the inclusion of such donations for aggregation under the Estate Duty Act.
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