2023 (12) TMI 277 - AT - Income Tax

Assessment/reassessment against deceased assessee - HELD THAT - As decided in Alamelu Veerappan 2018 (6) TMI 760 - MADRAS HIGH COURT there is no statutory obligation on the part of the legal representative of deceased to immediately intimate death of the assessee or take steps to cancel the PAN registration. Before us, the facts are much stronger in favour of the assessee because the legal heir has duly informed the Assessing Officer about the death of Puja Shah which occurred much before the issuance of notice u/s 148 of the Act on 31/03/2017. It is a settled principle that a notice issued in the name of a dead person is not enforceable in law and if such is the legal position then, the revenue cannot be held to be justified in contending that they have no knowledge about the death of the assessee. Similar view was taken by the Hon ble Delhi High Court in the case of Savita Kapila vs. ACIT 2020 (7) TMI 441 - DELHI HIGH COURT . Thus since the assessment order has been framed in the name of a deceased person even when information about the death of Puja Shah was provided to the Assessing Officer by her legal heir then, under such circumstances, the assessment order framed is non-est, bad in law and void ab initio - Appeal of the assessee is allowed.

Summary

Issues involved:
The judgment deals with the delay in filing the appeal, validity of the assessment order framed in the name of a deceased person, and the legal implications of such an order.

Delay in filing the appeal:
The appeal was filed with a delay of 1269 days, citing reasons such as the death of the assessee, change of counsel due to an accident, and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Tribunal found merit in the reasons provided and condoned the delay, admitting the appeal for hearing.

Validity of assessment order in the name of deceased person:
The assessee contended that the assessment order framed in the name of the deceased person rendered the proceedings invalid. Despite informing the Assessing Officer about the death of the assessee and providing necessary documents, the assessment was still carried out in the deceased person's name. The Tribunal referred to legal precedents from the Hon'ble High Courts of Madras and Delhi, stating that a notice issued in the name of a dead person is not enforceable in law. As the legal position dictates that such an assessment order is void ab initio, the Tribunal held the assessment order to be non-est and allowed the appeal on this ground.

Conclusion:
The Tribunal allowed the appeal of the assessee based on the invalidity of the assessment order framed in the name of the deceased person. The judgment was pronounced in Kolkata on 30th November 2023.