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TMI Blog1984 (2) TMI 209X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 1975-76 and 1976-77, respectively, under section 18(1)(a) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 ('the Act'). 3. The brief facts of the case are as under: The assessee filed the returns of wealth for the aforesaid assessment years on 9-12-1977 declaring net wealth of Rs. 2,76,920 and Rs. 2,76,680, respectively. The returns were due to be filed on 31-7-1975 and 31-7-1976. As the assessee failed to file the returns within the statutory period without any reasonable cause, penalty proceedings under section 18(1)(a) were initiated by the WTO. In response to a show-cause notice, none attended nor any reply was filed. The WTO, therefore, came to the conclusion that there was no reasonable cause which prevented the assessee from filing the returns in tim ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 77 and the assessments were completed by the WTO on 29-1-1980. The assessee died on 16-2-1981 and the penalty orders were passed on 27-3-1982 after the death of the assessee. Relying on the decision of the Allahabad High Court in the case of Rameshwar Prasad v. CWT [1980] 124 ITR 77, the learned counsel for the assessee contended before us that the penalties levied on the legal heir was not valid in law. He further contended that the deceased was detained under MISA from 30-6-1975 to 27-9-1976 and further he was externed from the limits of the Nagpur Corporation for 6 months from 28-9-1976 till 28-3-1977 and, therefore, he could not file the returns in time. He further filed before us a copy of the order of the AAC, B-Range, Nagpur dated 19 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... urring in section 19 refers not liability to assessment but liability to pay in consequence of an order passed under the Act. The existence of an order passed under the Act is a pre-requisite to accrual of liability to pay. Liability to pay continues till payment is made. Sub-section (1) of section 19 is confined to liability to pay and it casts upon the legal representative liability to pay wealth-tax or any sum which would have been payable by the deceased if he had not died. Section 19(1) by itself does not create on the legal representative liability to pay that which was non-existent till the date of death of the deceased. In other words, if an order creating liability to pay under the Act had not been passed till the date of death of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , for example, penalty proceedings had been initiated by issuance of show-cause notice to the original assessee and during the pendency of the proceedings the original assessee dies, the proceedings will come to an end. They cannot be continued against the legal representative, because the legal representative is not liable to be assessed to penalty and since no order determining liability can be passed after the death of the person who was liable to be assessed, no order can be passed after his death against the legal representative. The proposition laid down in the aforesaid case by their Lordships of the Allahabad High Court squarely apply to the facts of this case. We have to accept the contention of the learned counsel for the assessee ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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