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TMI Blog2001 (2) TMI 272X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r 1987-88 in response to the notice under section 16(1) showing the taxable gift at 'nil'. The Assessing Officer noted that the assessee, mother of the recipient of the gift, gifted 75 sovereigns of jewellery to her daughter at the time of marriage on 22-8-1986. It was the case of the assessee that by making the above gift, she has discharged a duty cast on a Hindu female to maintain her daughter and the gift was an item of expenditure incidental to marriage. The assessee relied on the decision of the Madras Bench of the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal in Smt. V. Padmavathy Ammal v. Fifth GTO [1989] 33 TTJ (Mad.) 648. The Assessing Officer did not agree with the contention of the assessee and brought value of 75 sovereigns of gold jewellery t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Gift-tax Officer is hereby cancelled and the appeal is allowed." Aggrieved by the above order, the Revenue is in appeal before the Tribunal. 3. The learned departmental representative relying on the decision of the Kerala High Court in the case of CGTv. Smt. B. Indira Devi[1998] 150 CTR 298, submitted that since the gift was not made by the assessee to discharge her legal obligation of maintaining the daughter, the same is a gift made voluntarily within the meaning of section 2(xii) of the Gift-tax Act, 1958. The learned representative of the assessee, on the other hand, submitted that this is a case where a Hindu mother gifted a few items of gold jewellery to her daughter on the eve of her marriage, as a part of the marriage expense ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... i He contended that in the case before the Hon'ble Kerala High Court, it was held that there was no legal obligation on the part of the Hindu parents to maintain their married daughter. The learned representative submitted that the only point that is to be considered is whether the present of 75 sovereigns of gold jewellery is reasonable or not in the facts of the case. The assessee's representative further submitted that the assessee is a wealth-tax assessee and she possessed 150 sovereigns of gold before the marriage of her daughter. She gave 75 sovereigns of jewellery to her only daughter at the time of latter's marriage. Therefore, the gift of 75 sovereigns of gold jewellery has to be considered very reasonable and fair. The learned rep ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he expenses for the marriage of a daughter of a Hindu family are a legitimate charge on the family estate. At the same time a Hindu father is also bound to meet the expenses of his daughter's marriage. The responsibility of the father has been statutorily recognised by section 20 of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956, and the Act has for the first time declared that the obligation to maintain rests also on the mother. Both the undivided family as well as the parents of the bride are thus under a legal obligation to meet the legitimate expenses of her marriage." In the case of B.N. Santoshrai v. Special Tahisildar AIR 1980 AP 139, the Hon'ble Andhra Pradesh High Court held that the transfer of a land in favour of a daughter by a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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