31 May 2011
This I Know...If Any one Can give me the answer in yes or no with reason....that will be more helpfull... Extract from New Final DT Study material - page 1.12 & 1.13 - (ii) HUF - Under the Income-tax Act, a Hindu undivided family (HUF) is treated as a separate entity for the purpose of assessment. It is included in the definition of the term “person” under section 2(31). The levy of income-tax is on “every person”. Therefore, income-tax is payable by a HUF. "Hindu undivided family" has not been defined under the Income-tax Act. The expression is however defined under the Hindu Law as a family, which consists of all males lineally descended from a common ancestor and includes their wives and unmarried daughters. The relation of a HUF does not arise from a contract but arises from status. A Hindu is born into a HUF. A male member continues to remain a member of the family until there is a partition of the family. After the partition, he ceases to be a member of one family. However, he becomes a member of another smaller family. A female member ceases to be a member of the HUF in which she was born, when she gets married. Thereafter, she becomes a member of the HUF of her husband. Some members of the HUF are called co-parceners. They are related to each other and to the head of the family. HUF may contain many members, but members within four degrees including the head of the family (kartha) are called co-parceners. A hindu co-parcenary includes those persons who acquire by birth an interest in the joint coparcenary property. Only the coparceners have a right to partition. A Jain undivided family would also be assessed as a HUF, as Jains are also governed by the laws as Hindus. Schools of Hindu Law There are two schools of hindu law. They are – (1) Mithakshara school of hindu law (2) Dayabhaga school of hindu law Mithakshara law is followed by entire India except West Bengal and Assam. There is a basic difference between the two schools of thought with regard to succession. Under the Mithakshara law, the inheritance is by birth. One acquires the right to the family property by his birth and not by succession irrespective of the fact that his elders are living. Thus every child born in the family acquires a right/share in the family property. Dayabagha law prevails in West Bengal and Assam. In Dayabagha law, nobody acquires the right, share in the property by birth as long as the head of family is living, that is, the children do not acquire any right, share in the family property, as long as his father is alive and only on death of the father, the children will acquire right/share in the property. Thus, the father and his brothers would be the coparceners of the HUF
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