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Issues:
1. Valuation of deceased's estate for Estate Duty Act. 2. Allowance of deduction for marriage expenses of unmarried daughter. Issue 1 - Valuation of deceased's estate for Estate Duty Act: The judgment involved a case where the deceased passed away leaving behind his widow, four daughters, and one son who had separated from him. The dispute arose regarding the valuation of the deceased's estate for the purpose of Estate Duty Act. The Assistant Controller and the Appellate Controller held that the deceased, being the sole surviving coparcener in the Hindu undivided family, was the full owner of the estate, and thus, the entire estate should be included in the dutiable estate. The accountable person claimed a deduction for the marriage expenses of an unmarried daughter, which was disallowed due to the absence of a will or settlement as required by the Act. The Appellate Controller allowed the deduction based on the legal obligation of the Hindu Undivided Family (H.U.F.) to provide for the daughter's marriage expenses. The accountable person appealed against the inclusion of the entire estate in the dutiable estate, while the Revenue appealed against the allowance of the deduction for marriage expenses. The Tribunal analyzed the provisions of the Estate Duty Act and the Hindu Law to determine the applicability of the valuation rules. It was established that for the deceased's interest in coparcenary property to be included in the dutiable estate, certain conditions needed to be fulfilled. These conditions included the existence of a coparcenary at the time of the deceased's death and the possibility of a partition before the death. In this case, as there was only a single surviving coparcener, the deceased, along with his wife and daughters, did not constitute a coparcenary. Therefore, the provisions of the Act regarding valuation of coparcenary interest were deemed inapplicable. Issue 2 - Allowance of deduction for marriage expenses of unmarried daughter: The judgment also addressed the question of whether a provision made for the marriage expenses of an unmarried daughter should be allowed as a deduction while computing the dutiable estate of the deceased. The Tribunal referred to a previous case where a similar deduction was disallowed, emphasizing that under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, a Hindu is obligated to maintain his legitimate children, including providing for the marriage expenses of unmarried daughters. However, the Tribunal ruled that unless a charge had been created on the estate for such expenses, the value of the property could not be diminished by the provision made for marriage expenses. Therefore, the Tribunal held that there was no legal basis to allow the deduction for the marriage expenses of the unmarried daughter. In conclusion, the appeal filed by the accountable person was dismissed as the deceased's estate was not subject to the valuation rules applicable to coparcenary property. The appeal by the Revenue was allowed, setting aside the Appellate Controller's order to allow the deduction for marriage expenses, and restoring the Assistant Controller's decision.
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