Amit Singh Vs ITO (ITAT Delhi)
Overview– The Tribunal quashed the reassessment proceedings as void ab initio, holding that issuance of notice under Section 148 to a deceased assessee without serving the legal heir vitiates jurisdiction under Section 147 and cannot be cured by subsequent participation.
Facts– In this case, notices were issued under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act in the name of the deceased assessee, Mahender Singh. However, no notice under Section 148 was ever issued to the legal heir, Amit Singh, who is the assessee before the Tribunal.
The assessee contended that since the deceased had passed away, the legal heir ought to have been identified and properly served in order to confer jurisdiction under Section 147 for reassessment. Although a notice under Section 159 was issued to the assessee, the legal heir, it was not followed by any notice under Section 148, thereby vitiating the reassessment proceedings for lack of jurisdiction.
Issue- Whether reassessment proceedings initiated under Section 147 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, are sustainable in law when the jurisdictional notice under Section 148 is issued in the name of a deceased assessee, without a valid and corresponding notice being served upon the legal heir?
