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TMI Blog1971 (9) TMI 61X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 6,377 on which he is liable to pay Gift-tax ?" to the High Court seeking its opinion. The High Court answered that question in the negative. The Commissioner of Gift-tax not being satisfied with that decision has brought these appeals. The facts of the case are not many though the question of law arising for decision is by no means easy. The respondent, N. S. Getti Chettiar (who will hereinafter be referred to as "the assessee"), was the karta of his undivided Hindu family consisting of himself, his son, Govindaraju Chettiar, and six sons of the said Govindaraju Chettiar. There was a partition of the immovable properties of the family through a registered deed executed on January 17, 1958, and the movable properties were divided on April 13, 1958, on which date the necessary entries in the account books were made. The assessee claimed recognition of that partition under section 25A of the Act. That was granted by the department on November 29, 1958. The total value of the properties so divided was Rs. 8,51,440 but under that partition the assessee took properties worth only Rs. 1,78,343. The remaining properties were allotted to his son and grandsons. The Gift-tax Officer, ov ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... us on section 4 of the Act. Therefore, we need not consider the scope of section 4 of the Act. All that the Solicitor-General contended was that the case came either under section 2(xii) or under section 2(xxiv). He built up his arguments thus : A partition in a Hindu undivided family invariably involves two steps, first there is a division of status and thereafter there is a division by metes and bounds. A coparcener's share is fixed according to law as soon as there is a division of status. Therefore, if at the time of division by metes and bounds he chooses to take a share less than that to which he is entitled to under law, then the same would amount to a "gift" of the balance of property to which he was entitled, to the other coparceners. We are unable to agree with the Solicitor-General that in every case of partition in a Hindu undivided family there should first be a division of a status and, thereafter, a division by metes and bounds. There are innumerable cases where a partition takes place without there being earlier any division of status. Coming to the facts of the case, there is no material before us to show that there was any division of status before the propertie ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ft " is defined in section 2(xii). That sub-clause says : " 'Gift' means 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 of any property deemed to be a gift under section 4." The expression "transfer of property" is defined in section 2(xxiv). That provision reads : " 'Transfer of property' means any disposition, conveyance, assignment, settlement, delivery, payment or other alienation of property and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes-- (a) the creation of a trust in property ; (b) the grant or creation of any lease, mortgage, charge, easement, licence, power, partnership or interest in property ; (c) the exercise of a power of appointment of property vested in any person, not the owner of the property, to determine its disposition in favour of any person other than the donee of the power ; and (d) any transaction entered into by any person with intent thereby to diminish directly or indirectly the value of his own property and to increase the value of the property of any other person." We shall first examine w ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to section 2(xxiv). The opening words of the provision refer to "transfer of property". That clause enumerates several types of transfers and not to any other transactions. It is also necessary to attach significance to the words "or other alienation of property" immediately after setting out the various types of transfers. If we read the clause as a whole, it is clear that it deals with transfer of properties in various ways. As observed in Craies on Statute Law (sixth edition, page 213), an interpretation clause which extends the meaning of a word does not take away its ordinary meaning. An interpretation clause is not meant to prevent the word receiving its ordinary, popular and natural sense whenever that would be properly applicable, but to enable the word as used in the Act, when there is nothing in the context or the subject-matter to the contrary, to be applied to some things to which it would not ordinarily be applicable. Bearing in mind these principles, let us now examine the scope of section 2(xxiv). That provision speaks of "disposition" "conveyance", "assignment", "settlement", "delivery", "payment" or "other alienation of property". A reading of this section cl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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