Facts of the Case

The petitioner, being the legal heir of Late Shri Vijay Shanker Goel, challenged the validity of reassessment proceedings initiated for Assessment Year 2015–16. The original return of income was filed by the assessee on 31.10.2015. A notice under Section 148 dated 08.04.2021 was issued during the lifetime of the assessee. The assessee expired on 10.05.2021.

Subsequently, the petitioner filed the return in compliance with the notice. Despite being informed of the death of the assessee and after the legal heirs were duly recorded on the Income Tax Portal, the respondent continued to issue statutory notices, including those under Sections 143(2), 142(1), and later under Section 148A(b) and Section 148, in the name of the deceased assessee.

Issues Involved

Whether reassessment proceedings initiated and continued through notices issued under Sections 148A(b) and 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, in the name of a deceased assessee—despite due intimation of death and identification of legal heirs—are legally sustainable.

 

Petitioner’s Arguments

The petitioner contended that issuance of reassessment notices in the name of a dead person is a fundamental jurisdictional defect. It was argued that once the Department had been duly informed about the death of the assessee and the particulars of legal heirs were on record, the Assessing Officer was duty-bound to issue fresh notices in the name of the legal representatives. Continuation of proceedings in the name of the deceased rendered the entire reassessment void ab initio.

 

Respondent’s Arguments

The Revenue submitted that the original notice under Section 148 was issued during the lifetime of the assessee and later stood converted into a notice under Section 148A(b) pursuant to the directions of the Supreme Court in Union of India v. Ashish Agarwal. It was further contended that the petitioner actively participated in the proceedings as a legal heir and had even filed returns, thereby validating the continuation of reassessment proceedings.

 

Court Order / Findings

The Delhi High Court held that issuance of a notice under Section 148 is a jurisdictional requirement and must be issued in the name of the correct person. A notice issued to a deceased person is invalid in law and cannot confer jurisdiction upon the Assessing Officer.

The Court observed that although the initial notice under Section 148 was issued during the lifetime of the assessee, the reassessment proceedings were effectively re-initiated pursuant to the notice under Section 148A(b) dated 26.05.2022, which was indisputably issued after the death of the assessee and in his name. Despite having full knowledge of the death and details of legal heirs, the Department failed to substitute the legal representatives.

Relying upon settled judicial precedents, the Court concluded that participation by the legal heir, after duly objecting to the defect, does not amount to waiver of jurisdictional infirmity. Consequently, the notices issued under Sections 148A(b), the order under Section 148A(d), and the final notice under Section 148 were quashed.

 Important Clarification

The Court reiterated that issuance of notice to the correct person is not a mere procedural formality but a condition precedent for assumption of jurisdiction under the Income Tax Act. Proceedings initiated or continued in the name of a deceased assessee, after the Department has knowledge of death, are null and void. Section 159 of the Act does not automatically cure such defects unless proper substitution of legal heirs is made in accordance with law.

Link to download the order - https://www.mytaxexpert.co.in/uploads/1770193946_MRKINSHUKGOELLEGALHEIROFLATESHRIVIJAYSHANKERGOELVsASSISTANTCOMMISSIONEROFINCOMETAXCIRCLE491.pdf

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