50. Application for probate or letters of administration.-

(1) Every application for the grant of probate or letters of administration shall be accompanied by a valuation of the estate in duplicate in the form set forth in Part I of Schedule III.

(2) On receipt of such application, the Court shall send a copy thereof and of the valuation to the Collector of the district in which the estate is situated, or if the estate is situated in more than one district, to the Collector of the district in which the most valuable portion of the immovable property included in the estate is situated.

51. Levy of fee.-

(1) The fee chargeable for the grant of probate or letters of administration shall be calculated at the rate or rates prescribed in Article 6 of Schedule I,-

(a) where the application is made within one year of the date of death of the deceased, on the market value of the estate on such date; or

(b) where the application is made after the expiry of one year from such date, on the market value of the estate on the date of the application: Provided that property held in trust not beneficially or with general power to confer a beneficial interest shall not be liable to any fee under this chapter.

Explanation.-

Any member of a joint Hindu family governed by the Mitakshara law who applies for probate or letters of administration in respect of the estate of a deceased member of the joint family shall pay a fee on the value of the share in the joint property which the deceased would have received if a partition of the property had been made immediately before his death.

(2) For the purpose of the computation of fee-

(a) the value of the items mentioned in Annexure B to Part I of Schedule III shall be deducted from the value of the estate:

Provided that, when an application is made for probate or letters of administration in respect of part only of an estate, no debt, no expenses connected with any funeral rites or ceremonies and no mortgage encumbrance on any part of the estate other than that in respect of which the application is made shall be deducted:

Provided further that when, after the grant of a certificate under Part X of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (Central Act 39 of 1925) in respect of any property included in an estate, a grant of probate or letters of administration is made in respect of the same estate, the fee payable in respect of the latter grant shall be reduced by the amount of the fee payable in respect of the former grant;

(b) the power of appointment which the deceased had over a property or which was created under a will shall be taken into account, the value of the property forming the subject matter of the power.

52. Grant of probate.-

The grant of probate or letters of administration shall not be delayed by reason of the reference to the Collector under section 50, sub-section (2), or of a motion by the Collector under section 54, sub-section (5); but the Court shall make no grant of probate or letters of administration until it is satisfied that a fee not less than that prescribed by this Act has been paid on the basis of the net value of the estate as furnished in the valuation accompanying the application, or in the amended valuation filed under section 54, sub- section (3):

Provided that the Court may grant probate or letters of administration notwithstanding that the prescribed fee has not been paid, to the Administrator-General in his official capacity on his giving an undertaking to the satisfaction of the Court that the said fee will be paid within such time as may be fixed by the Court.

53. Relief in cases of several grants.-

(1) Whenever a grant of probate or letters of administration has been made in respect of the whole of the property belonging to an estate and the full fee payable under this Act in respect of the application for such grant has been paid thereon, no fee shall be payable when a like grant is made in respect of the whole or any part of the same property belonging to the same estate.

(2) Whenever such grant has been made in respect of any property forming part of an estate, the amount of fee actually paid under this Act in respect thereof shall be deducted when a like grant is made in respect of the property belonging to the same estate identical with or including the property to which the former grant relates.

54. Inquiry by the Collector.-

(1) The Collector to whom a copy of the application and of the valuation has been sent under section 50, sub-section (2), shall examine the same and may make or cause to be made by any officer subordinate to him such inquiry, if any, as he thinks fit as to the correctness of the valuation or, where a part only of the property is situated in his district, of the valuation of that part, and may require the Collector of any other district in which any part of the property is situated to furnish him with the correct valuation thereof.

(2) Any Collector required under sub-section (1) to furnish the correct valuation of any property shall comply with the requisition after making or causing to be made by any officer subordinate to him such inquiry, if any, as he thinks fit.

(3) If the Collector is of opinion that the applicant has under-estimated the value of the property of the deceased, he may, if he thinks fit, require the attendance of the applicant, either in person or by his agent, and take evidence and inquire into, the matter in such manner as he may think fit, and if he is still of opinion that the value of the property has been under-estimated, may require the applicant to amend the valuation and, if the application for probate or letters of administration is pending in Court, to file a copy of the amended valuation in such Court.

(4) If, in any such case, the probate or letters of administration has or have been granted and the applicant amends the valuation to the satisfaction of the Collector and the Collector finds that the fee payable according to the true value of the estate has not been paid in full he shall proceed under section 56, sub-section (4); but if the fee paid is in excess of that payable according to the true value of the estate, the excess fee shall be refunded to the applicant.

(5) If the applicant does not amend the valuation to the satisfaction of the Collector, the Collector may move the Court before which the application for probate or letters of administration was made to hold an inquiry into the true value of the property: Provided that no such motion shall be made after the expiration of six months from the date of the exhibition of the inventory required by section 317 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (Central Act 39 of 1925).

55. Application to Court and powers of Court.-

(1) The Court shall, when moved by the Collector under section 54, sub-section (5), hold or cause to be held by any Court or officer subordinate to it an inquiry as to the true value at which the estate of the deceased should have been estimated. The Collector shall be deemed to be a party to the inquiry.

(2) For the purposes of any such inquiry, the Court, or the subordinate Court or the officer authorised by the Court to hold the inquiry, may examine the applicant on oath either in person or by commission, and may take such further evidence as may be produced to prove the true value of the estate, and where the inquiry has been entrusted to a subordinate Court or officer, such Court or officer shall return to the Court the evidence taken and report the result of the inquiry and such report and the evidence so taken shall be evidence in the proceedings.

(3) The Court on the completion of the inquiry or on receipt of the report referred to in sub-section (2), as the case may be, shall record a finding as to the true value at which the estate should have been estimated and such finding shall be final.

(4) The Court may make such order in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Central Act 5 of 1908) as to the costs of the inquiry as it thinks fit.

56. Provision for cases where too low a fee has been paid.-

(1) Where too low a fee has been paid on any probate or letters of administration in consequence of any mistake or of its not being known at the time that some particular part of the estate belonged to the deceased, if any executor or administrator, acting under such probate or letters, apply to the Collector in the form set forth in Part II of Schedule III and pays within six months after the discovery of the mistake or of any effects not known at the time to have belonged to the deceased, the difference between the fee which ought to have been paid in the first instance on such probate or letters and the fee actually paid, the Collector shall, if satisfied that insufficient fee was paid in the first instance in consequence of a mistake and without any intention to defraud or to delay the payment of the proper fee, cause the probate or letters to be duly stamped.

(2) If, in a case falling under sub-section (1), the executor or administrator does not, within six months referred to in that sub-section, pay the deficit fee, he shall forfeit a sum equal to five times the deficit fee.

(3) If, no application being made under sub-section (1), the Collector is satisfied that the application was not made within six months of the discovery of the mistake or of further effects not included in the original valuation or that the payment of insufficient fee in the first instance was not due to a bonafide mistake, he shall cause the probate or letters to be duly stamped on payment of the deficit fee together with a penalty not exceeding five time such fee.

(4) If, after the grant of probate or letters of administration of an estate, it if found by the Collector as a result of proceedings under section 54 or section 55 or otherwise, that a less fee has been paid than that payable according to the true value of the estate, he shall cause the probate or letters to be properly stamped on payment of the deficit fee, and if he is satisfied that the original under valuation was not bonafide he shall levy in addition a penalty not exceeding five times the deficit fee.

(5) The Board of Revenue may remit the whole or any part of the amount forfeited under sub-section (2) or of any penalty under sub-section (3) or sub-section (4).

57. Administrator to give proper security before letters stamped.-

In case of letters of administration on which too low a fee has been paid in the first instance the Collector shall not cause the same to be duly stamped in the manner aforesaid until the administrator has given such security to the Court by which the letters of administration have been granted as ought by law to have been given on the granting thereof in case the full value of the estate of the deceased had been then ascertained.

58. Relief when too high a fee has been paid.-

(1) If, at any time after the grant of the probate or letters of administration of an estate, it is discovered that higher fee has been paid than was payable according to the true value of the estate, the executor or administrator, as the case may be, may apply for a refund to the Collector to whom a copy of the valuation of the estate was sent under section 50, sub-section (2). The application shall be accompanied by an amended valuation in the form set forth in Part II of Schedule III together with the probate or letters of administration upon which a refund is sought.

(2) If the Collector is satisfied that the amended valuation is correct, he shall-

(i) endorse a certificate on the stamped probate or letters of administration to the effect that so much of the fee represented by the stamp or stamps used has been refunded; and

(ii) refund the difference between the fee originally paid and that which should have been paid: Provided that no refund shall be granted under this section unless the application for refund is made within three years of the date of the grant of the probate or letters of administration, or within such further period as the Collector may allow.

(3) If, by reason of any legal proceedings, the debts due from the deceased have not been ascertained and paid, or his effects have not been recovered and made available and in consequence thereof the executor or administrator is prevented from claiming the return of such difference within the said period of three years, the Collector may allow such further time for making the claim as may appear to him to be reasonable under the circumstances.

(4) If the Collector does not grant a refund, the executor or administrator, as the case may be, may apply to the Board of Revenue for an order of refund. An application for such refund should be accompanied by an amended valuation in the form set forth in Part II of Schedule III.

59. Recovery of penalties etc.-

Any excess fee found to be payable by an applicant for probate or letters of administration or by an executor or administrator or any costs under section 55, sub-section (4), or any penalty or forfeiture payable by any such executor or administrator may, on the certificate of the Board of Revenue, be recovered from the executor or administrator as if it were an arrear of land revenue.

60. Powers of Board of Revenue. -

The powers and duties of the Collector under this Chapter shall be subject to the control of the Board of Revenue.