Law:

Section:

JUDGMENT Gopalan Nambiyar, J.-Under section 26(1) of the Gift-tax Act, XVIII of 1958, the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Madras Bench, has stated the case and referred the following question of law for our decision : "Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the assessee was entitled to the exemption in respect of G. K. Hospital and the adjoining land of 1.38 cents under section 5(1)(xiv) of the Gift-tax Act ?" The facts and circumstances of the case on which the above question of law falls to be answered by us are these : The assessee, Dr. George Kuruvilla, is a practising doctor. By a deed of settlement dated 3rd February, 1960, he gifted some of his properties. Among these, the two items, with which we are concerned, were given away to one of the sons, Thomas Kuruvilla, aged 34 years. The donee, Thomas Kuruvilla, passed his M.B.B.S. examination in December, 1959, and joined his father's profession in July, 1960. Section 5(1)(xiv) of the Gift-tax Act, on the basis of which the question of law falls to be determined, is as follows: "(1) Gift-tax shall not be charged under this Act in respect of gifts made by any person......... (xiv) in the course of carrying on a business, profession or vocation, to the extent to which the gift is proved to the satisfaction of the Gift-tax Officer to have been made bona fide for the purpose of such business, profession or vocation........" Neither the gift deed nor a copy thereof has been annexed to or forwarded along with the statement of the case to this court. The attempt of the counsel for the revenue to tender a copy of the gift deed before us has been objected to by the counsel for the assessee. We have declined to look into the gift deed, as we are not satisfied that the same forms part of the record. The two ingredients to be satisfied in order to attract section 5(l )(xiv) are: (1) that the gift deed was made "in the course of carrying on a business, profession or vocation", and (2) that it was made "for the purpose of such business, profession or vocation." That the assessee was a doctor by profession and was continuing to exercise the said profession at the time of the gift is not disputed. On…

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