9911796707
TMI Blog2024 (12) TMI 1432X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 61 [hereinafter referred as 'the Act'] with PAN AXJPB736M. 2. The said Naringaparambil Bhaskaran, the assessee, expired on 30.10.2021. Notice dated 27.03.2023 under Section 148A (b) of the Act was served on the address of the late assessee. In the said notice, the deceased assessee was required to show cause why a notice under Section 148 of the Act should not be issued. The said notice was with respect to the assessment year 2019-2020. The notice under Section 148A (b) of the Act is a preliminary notice issued as a precursor to the exercise of jurisdiction under Section 148 of the Act and ordinarily, such a notice if issued against a dead person is void and all further proceedings thereto are 'non-est'. 3. On receipt of the notice, the 1 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... id notices under Section 148A (b) and 148 of the Act are the foundation on which the Assessing Officer derives jurisdiction to conduct assessment under Section 147 of the Act. Notice issued in the name of a dead person is not valid and in the absence of issuance of a valid notice, the assessment proceedings sought to be initiated under Section 147 is unsustainable. It is further submitted that, all the notices issued are against the deceased assessee. A notice issued against a non-existent person is a nullity and therefore the consequent notice issued under Section 148 and the purported re-assessment/assessment under Section 147 is also invalid. It is submitted that, learned Single Judge had failed to appreciate the above contention in the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ssue the notice under Section 148 on the same day. 12. The learned counsel for the appellants has placed reliance on the decision reported in Chandreshbhai Jayantibhai Patel v. Income Tax Officer [(2019) 413 ITR 276 (Guj)]. In Chandreshbhai's case (supra), the Gujarat High Court held that notice under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act 1961 is a jurisdictional notice, and existence of a valid notice under Section 148 is a condition precedent for exercise of jurisdiction by the Assessing Officer to assess or re-assess under Section 147. It was further observed that a notice under Section 148 of the Act against a dead person is invalid, unless the legal representative submits to the jurisdiction of the Assessing Officer without raising any ob ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r Section 147/148 of the Act within the period of limitation. That would be a plain illegality and not a mere irregularity.' 15. The Apex Court in Sheela Devi v. Principal Commissioner of Income Tax [2022 SCC OnLine ITAT 75] held that, notice issued against a dead person is null and void and all consequent proceedings/orders being equally tainted, are liable to be set aside. 16. In Shabina Abraham and Others v. Collector Central Excise and Customs [(2015) 10 SCC 770] the Apex Court had occasion to discuss about the tax liability of the dead person. In Shabina Abraham's case (supra) the Apex Court would observe that "nothing is certain, except death and taxes". To tax the dead is a contradiction in terms. Tax laws are made by the living to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t of the parties cannot confer jurisdiction to the assessing authority for initiation of an action which is otherwise illegal and 'non-est'. 21. In the light of the above discussions, we cannot agree with the view taken by the learned Single Judge that the legal heirs of the deceased assessee are estopped from taking a different stand in the writ petition, since they have appeared before the assessing authority and participated in the proceedings. Therefore, we are of the view that the initiation of proceedings against a dead person under Sections 148A (b) and 148 of the Income Tax Act are illegal and 'non-est'. 22. The Appeal succeeds. The impugned order passed by the learned Single Judge dated 31.10.2023 in W.P(C). No. 34850/2023 is her ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
