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1981 (4) TMI 95 - SC - Indian LawsWhether under s. 52 of the Estate Duty Act, 1953 the Central Govt. is bound to accept in satisfaction of the whole or any part of the duty payable under the Act at such price as may be agreed upon between the Central Govt. and the person accountable for estate duty any property passing on the death of the deceased when an application is made for that purpose by such person? Held that:- In the instant case, the High Court was, however, right in holding that it had not been shown that the competent authority had properly exercised its discretion. In the counter-affidavit filed by the Asst. Controller, some reasons were given in support of the decision of the Board. That counter-affidavit is of no use, for, the deponent could not speak on behalf of the Central Govt. or the Board. In the counter-affidavit of Balbir Singh, Secretary, CBDT and Deputy Secretary to the Govt. of India, two principal grounds were mentioned for rejecting the offer-one, that the Central Govt. was not bound to accept the offer and two, that it had been shown that " the cash in hand, cash at bank, book debts, business profits, rent and share of the deceased in the firm of Ramnarain Lal Beni Madho amounted to ₹ 4,57,462 which amount was more than sufficient to pay the entire estate duty demand ". On the other hand, the respondent contended in his reply-affidavit that he had no liquid cash to to pay the estate duty as it had been invested in business. But there appears to have been no further probe into the question. It is also obvious that the Board proceeded on the assumption that its discretion was unfettered even by considerations relevant to administrative law. In these circumstances, we feel that there was no proper exercise of the discretion by the Board.
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