Appellate Controller of Estate Duty. - Income Tax - 172/CBDT

INSTRUCTION NO 172/CBDT, Dated: May 15, 1970 Section(s) Referred: 59 ,53(3) Statute: Estate Duty Act A case has recently come to the notice of the Board wherein neither the statement of accounts was filed by the Accountable Person within the time-limit prescribed u/s.53(3) nor were the proceedings u/s.59 initiated by the Department within the time-limit mentioned in Section 73 A. The Accountable Person, however, filed the return after the expiry of the statutory period of 5 years and the assessment was completed by the Assistant Controller of Estate Duty accordingly. On appeal, the Appellate Controller agreed with the contention of the Accountable Person that the assessment having been made after the time-limit mentioned in section 73A was bad in law and cancelled the same. No appeal was filed by the Controller against the order of the Appellate Controller of Estate Duty. 2. The deceased has an income-tax as well as W.T. assessment. During the course of Revenue Audit it was observed that if the ITO dealing with the I.T. assessment(who was aware of the death of the deceased) had given an intimation to the Assistant Controller of Estate Duty concerned, the proceedings u/s.73A/59 could have been initiated well in time and loss of revenue would have been avoided. 3. The Board have been advised that what Section 73A bars is the commencement of proceedings by revenue authorities. If proceedings have commenced otherwise it does not operate as a bar to their completion. Thus, there is no bar to the completion of assessment on the basis of a voluntary return filed beyond the statutory period of 5 years. The Board, therefore, suggest that in any case where the assessment is cancelled by the Appellate Controller on the ground that the assessment completed by the Assistant Controller of Estate Duty on the return voluntarily filed by the Accountable person after the expiry of 5 years from the death of the deceased was barred by limitation u/s.73A of the Estate Duty Act, 1953, the matter should be contested in appeal further. They also desire that simultaneously to minimise the possibility of such legal objections, instructions should be issued to all the ITOs/WTOs to ensure that intimations are invariably promptly given to the Assistant Controller of Estate Duty concerned of the deaths of the assessees which come to their notice while dealing with the assessments.