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TMI Blog2023 (6) TMI 1288X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of issuing a notice to a correct person is not merely a procedural requirement but a condition precedent for a notice to be valid in law. In the case of Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, New Delhi vs Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. [ 2019 (7) TMI 1449 - SUPREME COURT] the Apex Court has held that the notice issued and the order passed in the name of an old entity is bad in law and that such error was not curable u/s 292B of the Act as the same constitutes a substantive illegality and not a mere procedural violation. This Court holds that the notice and all consequential proceedings in the name of a deceased assessee are null and void - Decided in favour of assessee. - DHIRAJ SINGH THAKUR AND KAMAL KHATA, JJ. For the Petitioner ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... (ii) Additional/Joint Commissioner of Income Tax, Circle 27(3), (iii) Principal Commissioner of Income-tax 27 (Respondent No. 2), (iv) Commissioner of Income-Tax, Gandhinagar Circle and (v) Deputy Commissioner of Income-Tax Gandhinagar Circle. It is stated that whereas the file of the deceased was not transferred, files of other family members were transferred to Gandhinagar for the reasons best known to the Respondents. 5. Upon death of the deceased, Petitioner s request for being registered as the legal heir dated 11th April 2020 sent along with copy of (i) the death certificate, (ii) the Will, and (iii) PAN Card was approved on 13th April 2020. On 20th July 2020, as the legal heir of the deceased, the Petitioner, filed the return of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . On the same day a notice u/s 148 was issued in the name of the deceased assessee requiring her to file return of income within 30 days. On 8th April 2022 the Petitioner as the legal heir, filed the return of income under protest and also sought copy of the reasons recorded for reopening the assessment. On 28th April 2022 the Respondent No. 1 reverted reiterating the contents of the notice to which the Petitioner filed detailed objection on 29th April 2022. The learned counsel submitted that apprehending huge additions and consequently demands the present Petition was filed. 8. Mr. Singh the learned counsel for the Respondents in response submitted that an alternate remedy was available before the Assessing Officer (AO) to the Petitione ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Legal Heir but where the proceedings are system generated, then they are associated and linked to a particular PAN and the name and details associated to than PAN and no changes are possible. He therefore submitted that the Petitioner should avail his remedy before the AO. Conclusion : 9. We have heard both counsel and perused the papers and proceedings. 10. The facts are not in dispute. The impugned notice for reopening the assessment was issued on a dead person. There are several judgments of different High Courts holding that the notice issued on a dead person or reopening of assessment of a dead person is null and void in law and the requirement of issuing a notice to a correct person is not merely a procedural req ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ice on the deceased assessee. The respondent No. 2 would also not have been wrong in not granting the sanction to the respondent No. 1 for issuance of a notice on the deceased assessee, since the department was aware of the demise of the assessee and since the ITBA system is undergoing a change and being updated with new functionalities and modalities. In our view, if the concerned officers follow the settled law and abstain from issuing notices which are null and void, would not only help the citizenry but also the courts in the country who are already overburdened. In fact, it would be in tune with the Finance Act 2021 which aims to achieve the ultimate object of simplifying the tax administration, ease compliance and reduce litigation. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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