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Issues:
1. Valuation of life insurance policy at surrender value or maturity value. 2. Treatment of the difference between maturity value and surrender value as a separate estate under Estate Duty Act. Detailed Analysis: 1. The appeal involved two main issues regarding the valuation of a life insurance policy. The first contention was whether the policy should be valued at its surrender value or maturity value. The accountable person argued that only the surrender value should be considered, while the departmental representative contended that the entire maturity value should be included in the estate. The departmental representative relied on the definition of 'property' under the Estate Duty Act, stating that the maturity amount represents an interest in the property. Various legal interests were discussed, and it was argued that all interests passing on death are chargeable. The Appellate Tribunal considered these arguments and concluded that the maturity value of the policy passes on the death of the deceased, dismissing the appeal. 2. The second issue raised was whether the difference between the maturity value and surrender value should be treated as a separate estate under sub-section (3) of section 34 of the Estate Duty Act. The accountable person argued that this difference should be taxed separately as the deceased never had any interest in it. However, the departmental representative maintained that the money received under the policy forms part of the deceased's estate. The Tribunal referred to previous court decisions to support the view that the amounts received under life insurance policies after the death of the deceased become part of the estate. It was held that the maturity value, not the surrender value, passes on the death of the deceased. The Tribunal rejected the contentions of the accountable person and upheld the findings of the Appellate Controller. 3. Ultimately, the Tribunal found that the appeal had no merits and dismissed it. The decision was based on the understanding that the maturity value of the life insurance policy passes on the death of the deceased, and there were no grounds to interfere with the findings of the Appellate Controller. The legal principles and court decisions cited in the judgment supported the conclusion that the amounts received under life insurance policies after the death of the deceased are considered part of the estate, emphasizing the distinction between assignment and nomination of policies in estate valuation.
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