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TMI Blog1991 (5) TMI 105X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... No. 1747 of 1979 with Sub-Registry and jewellery, in favour of her unmarried daughter Chitra Premkumar whose marriage took place in May 1979. 3. For the assessment year 1980-81, Smt. Indira Devi filed a return of gift showing the value of gifted lands and building at Rs. 2,17,500. The Gift-tax Officer referred the value of the property to the Valuation Officer, Income-tax Department, Trivandrum, who fixed the value of the said property at Rs. 10,50,000 as on 30-4-1979. The Gift-tax Officer adopted the value fixed by the Valuation Officer and determined the value of the taxable gift at Rs. 9,62,000 including the value of jewellery. 4. The assessee carried the matter in appeal to the CIT(Appeals), contending that the gift was not exigibl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and abroad and for her livelihood, out of her love and affection towards the daughter, the assessee bequeathed the properties mentioned in the schedule with the building. The assessee contended that she being the mother of the donee and a Hindu, she is under a legal and moral obligation to maintain her daughter. On behalf of the assessee the learned representative has also produced the extract of section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which reads as follows :-- " 125. (1) If any person having sufficient means neglects or refuses to maintain-- (a) his wife, unable to maintain herself, or (b) his legitimate or illegitimate minor child, whether married or not, unable to maintain itself, or (c) his legitimate or illegitimate child ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... esentative of the assessee also produced a certificate from S.N.D.P. Branch No. 950 to the effect that " in the Ezhava community it is an ordinary social custom for the parents to bestow immovable and movable properties on their daughters. Such a practice of giving property to daughters is done during the life-time of the parents or after their life-time. According to the custom of the Ezhava community to which the parties belong the parents generally believe that, with a view to make their daughters future secure and prosperous, it is their obligatory duty to provide property to their daughters ". Accordingly, the representative of the assessee submitted that the assessee has executed the gift deed in accordance with the custom prevalent i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... urview of the Gift-tax Act. 10. The fact that the assessee has executed a gift deed on 30-4-1979 out of her love and affection is not in dispute. In May 1979, the marriage of the donee was performed. The contention of the assessee is that she being the mother and a Hindu, she has a moral and legal obligation to maintain her children. As per the Hindu Law, the assessee has got every right to give her separate property in any manner as she likes. It is further argued that the definition of the term " maintenance " includes the expenses of the marriage also. Then the point arises for our consideration is in the presence of the father whether the mother has any moral and/or legal obligation to maintain her children. In respect of this point, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ys down some very simple rules and casts the obligation of maintaining minor children legitimate or illegitimate both on the father as well as the mother and it also rules that a Hindu male and female are both under the legal obligation to maintain their aged or infirm parents. Maintenance includes provision for food, clothing, residence, education of the children and medical attendance and treatment and in case of an unmarried daughter, also the reasonable expenses of an incident to her marriage. The obligation to maintain parents and an unmarried daughter extends insofar as any one of the latter is unable to maintain himself or herself out of his own earnings or other property. " From the above, we have to hold that the assessee is enti ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... S.N.D.P. to show that the custom prevalent in her community is for the parents to give properties, and jewellery, etc., to the daughter at the time of marriage. The term 'Parents' will include father as well as mother. In view of the above, we hold that the CIT(Appeals) is not justified in holding that the gift executed by the assessee is not exempt from the provisions of the Gift-tax Act. Therefore, we set aside the order of the CIT(A) on this point and hold that the transaction in question is exempt from the provisions of the Gift-tax Act. 13. The next ground in the assessee's appeal and the only ground taken in the revenue's appeal is in respect of the valuation of the gifted property. Since we have held that the transaction is not a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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