Law: Estate Duty Act, 1953

Section: 59(1)

Estate Duty--Liability to duty-Forest lands situated in States-Whether liable to estate duty-Meaning of "agricultural land"-Burden of proof-Estate Duty Act, 1953, S. 5(1). If what the assessee claims is an exemption from tax liability, the burden of proving that he is entitled to the exemption is on the assessee. If what the assessee claims is an immunity from tax liability on the ground that the subject does not fall within the ambit of the taxing statute, the revenue has to establish that the subject is taxable. The estate of J and M, who died on March 6, 1954, and May 9, 1955, respectively, included 36,857 acres of forest lands in the Malabar District in the then State of Madras. The assessee claimed that they were agricultural lands and hence not subject to estate duty. The Appellate Tribunal found that 15,000 odd acres, out of the said area, had been leased by the assessee from time to time for cutting of timber and fuel wood and had been never brought under cultivation, that the remaining 16,000 odd acres had been given to the Kerala Government on lease for 99 years and there was no evidence whether the Kerala Govern ment cultivated the land or only exploited it for its timber value, that therefore it was not established that any of the total extent of 36,857 acres was agricultural land and that the entire extent was, therefore, liable to estate duty. On a reference to the High Court; Held, that the Appellate Tribunal was not correct in law in having included the value of the forest lands in the total value of the estate for the purpose of estate duty. Under section 5 of the Estate Duty Act, 1953, estate duty in respect of agricultural lands in the States can be levied only in respect of agricultural lands in the States included in the First Schedule to the Act. The Madras State was included in the First Schedule to the Act with effect from June 6, 1955. Before that date, the charge could be levied only in respect. of non-agricultural lands. There fore, under section 5, the burden was on the revenue to prove that the property in respect of which estate duty was sought to be levied was non-agricultural property and there was no material to hold…