Mahendra Singh Jain Vs ITO (ITAT Delhi)
Death ends Jurisdiction- Legal Heirs must be substituted, Else Assessment Fails: ITAT quashes Order passed posthumously- No Assessment on Dead Person – Tribunal relies on SC’s Maruti Suzuki Ruling
Delhi ITAT quashed an assessment framed against a deceased person, declaring the proceedings null & void. The case involved Late Shri Mahendra Singh Jain whose assessment for AY 2012-13 was completed u/s 144/147 on 13.11.2019, despite the fact that he had expired on 14.07.2019. The order of AO as well as the appellate order of CIT(A)were challenged by the legal representatives on the ground that proceedings initiated & completed against a dead person were illegal & void ab initio
Assessee’s representatives raised strong objections about the Jurisdictional defect. All notices u/s 142(1)/144 & the assessment order were issued in the name of the deceased, in violation of Section 159 of the Act. The additions were incorrect as ₹11,57,000/- cash deposit in joint account (admittedly deposited by another joint holder, Shri Sandeep Kumar Jain) & ₹2,00,000/- cash deposit was out of assessee’s own life savings
Tribunal noted that the primary contention of Assessee is that assessment order passed by AO has been issued in the name of deceased, hence, proceeding arises therefrom are vitiated. Assessee died on 14.07.2019 as is evident from his death certificate placed on record. However, the assessment order was passed on 13.11.2019 u/s. 144/147 in the name of the deceased person, without substituting the name of legal representatives of deceased. Thus, assessment proceedings & assessment order in the name of dead person is without jurisdiction & is quashed. This view has been fortified by the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the case of PCIT vs. Maruti Suzuki India Limited 265 Taxman 515 wherein, it has been categorically held that where assessment order is passed in the name of a non existing entity, the same is without jurisdiction & has to be set aside.
