Balasubramaniam Sundaresan Vs ITO (ITAT Chennai)
Order Passed in Name of Deceased Assessee Is Invalid: Chennai ITAT Remands Matter for Fresh Order on Legal Heir
The Chennai Bench of the ITAT set aside the appellate order passed by the CIT(A) in the case of Late Balasubramaniam Sundaresan (AY 2017-18), holding that an order passed in the name of a deceased assessee is legally unsustainable, even when the appellate authority was informed of the death.
The Tribunal noted that the assessee had expired on 31.12.2023 and that the legal heir (daughter) had duly intimated the CIT(A) with supporting death and legal heir certificates. Despite this, the CIT(A) proceeded to pass the impugned order without properly re-adjudicating the appeal in the name of the legal heir.
Relying on the binding Madras High Court judgment in Ramesh M. Mehta v. ACIT, the ITAT held that such an order cannot stand and must be set aside. Accordingly, the matter was remanded to the CIT(A) with a direction to re-adjudicate and pass a fresh order in the name of the legal heir(s) after due opportunity.
The appeal was allowed for statistical purposes, and the connected stay petition was dismissed as infructuous.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT CHENNAI
The captioned appeal filed by the assessee is directed against order of the Ld. Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), ADDL/JCIT (A)-4, Mumbai [‘CIT(A)’ in short] dated 14.08.2025 for Assessment Year 2017- 18.
