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TMI Blog1992 (12) TMI 37X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... relatives dependent upon him and whether gifts made by their father-in-law immediately after their marriage, are, eligible for exemption under section 5(1)(vii) of the Gift-tax Act, 1958 ? " The assessment years involved are 1980-81 and 1981-82. The background facts as culled out from the statement of case drawn up by the Tribunal are that Sri K. B. B. Subudhi of Berhampur in the district of Ganjam ( hereinafter referred to as " the assessee " ) as karta of the Hindu undivided family filed two returns of gift on March 31, 1982, for the assessment years 1980-81 and 1981-82 disclosing a total gift of Rs. 47,172 and Rs. 61,612 and a taxable gift of Rs. 32,172 and Rs. 46,612, respectively. According to the returns during the assessment yea ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... term would essentially mean that the dependence should be for limited purposes of support and maintenance, and, in the case at hand, the assessee being a Hindu undivided family, the daughters-in-law have to depend on it for support and maintenance. Therefore, the claims were allowed. The Revenue carried the matter in appeals before the Tribunal. In deciding the appeals, the Tribunal was of the view that the expression occasion " did not relate Only to the date of marriage. The expression dependent " in the absence of a statutory definition was wide enough to include daughters-in-law. Reference is made to a circular issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes dated February 27, 1959, in that context. With the aforesaid conclusions, the firs ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t-tax are detailed in different clauses of sub-section (1) of section 5. All gifts made to a relative are not exempt in terms of section 5(1)(vii). Only a gift to a relative who is dependent upon the donor for support and maintenance is made tax-free if it is made on the occasion of the marriage of the relative. " Gift " is defined in section 2(xii) as " the transfer by one person to another of any existing movable or immovable property made voluntarily and without consideration in money or money's worth, and includes the transfer or conversion of any property referred to in section 4, deemed to be a gift under that section ". The expressions " relative " and "dependent" are not defined and have to be understood in their ordinary meaning. I ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... de both in cash and in kind. There is further restriction that the gift should be made on the occasion of marriage. Though the word "occasion" has reference to the time of the marriage, it conveys the idea of association with the event, for example, the marriage event. The expression on the occasion of marriage " is not equivalent in meaning to the phrase on the same date as ". ( See Stroud's Judicial Dictionary, Third Edition, Vol. III, page 1953). The words " on the occasion of marriage" do not mean "on the day of marriage ". They would mean either at or about the time of the marriage with the implication that the coincidence in time was designed and not accidental. (See Ideal Life Assurance Co. Ltd. v. Hirschfield [1943] KB 442 ; [1943] ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rt illustration. A Hindu undivided family has an obligation to maintain and get an unmarried daughter married. That right of the unmarried daughter to be maintained and to get married and the obligation of the family to do so may be inchoate. These rights and obligations do not attach to any specific property. There is an undoubted right under the Hindu law of an unmarried daughter to be maintained and to get married and the corresponding obligation of the Hindu family to discharge these obligations cannot, therefore, be under any doubt. The provision made for the unmarried daughters towards their maintenance and marriage is not a gift within the meaning of section 2(xii) of the Act. A view similar to ours has been taken in CGT v. Budur Thi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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