Dasari Sai Annapurna Vs ACIT (ITAT Visakhapatnam)
In Dasari Sai Annapurna v. ACIT, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal examined the validity of a reassessment order passed in the name of a deceased assessee for AY 2015–16. The original assessee had filed his return declaring income of ₹17.27 lakh. Based on information regarding a Joint Development Agreement entered into in May 2014, the Assessing Officer initiated reassessment proceedings under section 147 on the ground that capital gains arising from the transaction had escaped assessment. Notice under section 148 was issued and served on the assessee during his lifetime on 31 March 2021. However, the assessee died on 17 May 2021 while the reassessment proceedings were pending. This fact was subsequently intimated to the Assessing Officer by the legal heir before completion of assessment. Despite this, the Assessing Officer completed the reassessment on 28 March 2022 in the name of the deceased assessee, disallowed the claim of exemption under section 54F, and made an addition of long-term capital gains.
On appeal, the Commissioner (Appeals) set aside the assessment and remanded the matter to the Assessing Officer for fresh consideration on merits, citing lack of proper opportunity and non-production of documents. The legal heir challenged this remand order before the Tribunal, contending that the reassessment itself was void as it had been framed against a dead person despite the Assessing Officer being informed of the death prior to completion of proceedings. Reliance was placed on judicial precedents holding that proceedings against a deceased person without impleading legal heirs are invalid.
