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Interpretation of section 50 of the Estate Duty Act regarding deduction of court-fees paid on estate of deceased for estate duty calculation. Analysis: The case involved a question referred by the Central Board of Direct Taxes regarding the deduction of court-fees paid on the estate of a deceased individual for estate duty calculation under section 50 of the Act. The deceased, a partner in a firm, had court-fees paid for obtaining a succession certificate. The Assistant Controller allowed deduction only towards the court-fees paid in this case, leading to an appeal by the applicant. The Board dismissed the appeal, stating that section 50 did not envisage deduction of the entire amount of court-fee paid. The applicant contended that the entire court-fee amount should be allowed as a deduction under section 50. However, the court rejected this argument, stating that the aggregation of the deceased's estate for estate duty calculation does not include the share of other coparceners. The court emphasized that estate duty is leviable only on the deceased's interest, which is notionally fixed as his share in the joint family property. The court analyzed the provisions of sections 34 and 50 of the Act. Section 34 deals with the aggregation of the deceased's estate for determining the estate duty rate, while section 50 pertains to the deduction of court-fees paid on property subject to estate duty. The court clarified that the word "leviable" in section 50 refers to the estate duty that would be levied after deductions, not on the entire estate including coparceners' shares. The court further explained the principles of Hindu law regarding joint family property and the devolution of coparcenary interests. It highlighted that estate duty is leviable only on the deceased's interest in the property, as determined by law. The court concluded that the provisions of section 50 do not allow for the deduction of court-fees paid on the entire joint family property, affirming the view taken by the estate duty authorities. Therefore, the court answered the question in the affirmative, supporting the department's interpretation of section 50, and awarded costs to the department along with the advocate's fee.
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