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Showing contexts for: settlor trust in Prince Ranjitsinh P. Gaekwad And Ors. vs Commissioner Of Wealth-Tax, Gujarat on 9 September, 1968Matching Fragments
(c) If at the expiration of the said period of ten years the settlor's brother the said Sangramsinh shall not have married to pay the whole of the interest, dividends and income of the accumulate trust fund to the settlor's brother the said Sangramsing until the death or marriage or until he attains the age of fifty years whichever event shall happen first.
(d) On the occasion of the marriage of the settlor's brother the said Prince Sangramsinh the expend or utilise the corpus of the trust fund on behalf of or for the benefit of the said Price Sangramsinh for the purpose of the marriage AND IT IS HEREBY PROVIDED THAT it shall be lawful for the trustees to pay or utilise the whole or any part of the corpus of the trust fund in advance of such marriage for enabling the expenses in respect of such marriage being defrayed thereat and for making gifts and presents to the bride and members of the family according to the custom of the family of the settlor PROVIDED FURTHER that the trustees shall be at liberty in their absolute discretion to pay to the said Prince Sangramsinh the whole or any part of the corpus of the trust fund for such purposes and in any such event the trustees shall not be liable to see to the application of be responsible for the non-application or mis-application thereof AND IT IS HEREBY AGREED AND DECLARED that notwithstanding anything herein or in general law contained to the contrary any at bona fide done by the trustees or any payment bon fide made or expenses bon fide incurred by the trustees in pursuance of the provisions of this clause shall not be questioned in any court of law or otherwise howsoever by any person whomsoever.
15. We may also point out that under clause 11 of each of the three trust deeds, the trust deed is to remain irrevocable up to 12 noon of March 15, 1964, and after the expiration of that period of irrevocability, it is open to the settlor at any time or times in his absolute discretion to revoke all or any of the uses, trusts, powers, provisions and limitation set out in the earlier clauses of the trust deed. After the power of revocation is exercised by the settlor under clause 11, the trust fund or any part thereof in respect of such power of revocation is exercised is to belong absolutely to the settlor.
19. When one turns to clauses 3(f) and (g), it is clear that in each of these two clauses what is dominant in the mind of the settolr, and bearing in mind also the object of the settlor in creating this trust, is that first and foremost the deed of trust has been created in order to provide for expenses of and incidental to the marriage of the assessee concerned. But provision has also to be made for certain eventualities which may or may not happen, viz., the assessee not getting married at all till reaching the age of 50 years or the assessee dying before getting married and it is to provide for these eventualities that the provision has been made in clauses 3(f) and 3(g). It is clear that the event of the assessee remaining unmarried up to the age of 50 years is an uncertain event; and similarly the event of the assessee dying before marriage and before attaining the age of 50 years is also an uncertain event. Though the death of a person is a certainty and it he does not die before reaching the age of 50 years, his attaining the age of 50 years is also a definite and certain event, what is not certain is his remaining unmarried by the time he attains the age of 50 years. Therefore, it is clear that the eventuality of remaining unmarried up to the age of 50 years or of dying before attaining the age of 50 years and before marriage being uncertain events, clauses 3(f) and 3(g) create a contingent interest in the assessee. The trust deed having been created in discharge of the obligation of the settlor to provide for the expenses of and incidental to the marriage of the assessee concerned, the primary object is what has been set out in cluases 3(c) and 3(d), viz., provision for the marriage expenses and it is with that end in view that clauses 3(c) which deals with the income of the trust fund provides that on any one of the three events happening, viz., marriage or death or attaining the age of 50 years of age without getting married and under clauses 3(g) in the event of death before attaining the age of 50 years and before getting married. It is true that the order in which the different clauses in the trust deed are set out should not with us in interpreting the provisions of the trust deed; but in order to find out whether the trust complete analysis of the different sub-clauses of clause 3, that the events on the happening of which clauses 3(f) and 3(g) are to come into operation are not certain events, that it, are not events which are bound to happen and, therefore, the interest created under clauses 3(f) and (g) can only be a contingent interest and not a vested interest.
"We are of the view that interest in property which is available to the taxpayer for a period not exceeding six years from the valuation date is not an asset within the meaning of section 2(e) land the value thereof cannot be included in the net wealth of the assessee for the financial year relevant to the valuation date."
32. In the instant case, the three relevant trust deeds were all executed on February 28, 1958, and by clause 11 of each of the three trust deed it has been provided that the trust deed shall remain irrevocable up to 12 noon of March 15, 1964. After the expiration of this period, it would be lawful for the settlor at any time or times by any deed or deeds, revocable or irrevocable, inter verves or by his last will or codicil thereto to later, vary or absolutely to revoke all or any of the uses, trusts, powers, provisions and limitations declared in each of the three trust deeds and contained therein concerning the trust fund as provided and appointed therein and if he so desired in lieu of the uses, trusts and limitations so revoked to limit, declare and appoint by the same or any other deed or deeds or will or codicil such new or other uses, trusts, powers, provisions and limitations of and concerning the trust fund or the income thereof or the management thereof as he, the settlor, shall think proper notwithstanding anything thereinbefore contained to the contrary and upon such revocation the said trust fund or any part thereof or the income thereof or any part thereof in respect of which such power to revocation shall be exercised shall belong absolutely to the settlor subject to any such new limitation, declaration or appointment. In view of this power of revocation it is clear that as from 12 noon of March 15, 1964, the interest of each of the assessees under the relevant trust deed was precarious because as from March 15, 1964 it was open to the settlor to revoke the trust completely and thus deprive the beneficiary concerned of the interest in the trust fund, whatever the nature of that interest may be. It is clear in the instant case that the relevant valuations dates are March 31, 1958, March 31, 1959, March 31, 1960, and March 31, 1961, the relevant assessment years being 1958-59, 1959-60, 1960-61, respectively. Thus, it is clear applying the ratio of the Supreme Court decision to the facts of this case, that on each of these four valuation dates, the interest in the trust fund was available to the assessee for a period not exceeding six years from the relevant valuation date and hence was not ask asset within the meaning of section 2(e) of the Act and the value thereof cannot be included in the net wealth of the assessment for the financial year relevant to that valuation date. The earliest of these four valuation dates is March 31, 1958, and since under Clause 11 the power of revocation can be exercised by the settlor any time after 12 noon of March 15, 1964, even from that earliest valuation date, the interest to the beneficiary is not available to him for a period exceeding six years.