Sulochana Devi Bagaria Vs ITO (ITAT Kolkata)
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Kolkata Bench, delivered a judgment in the consolidated appeals filed by the legal representative of the deceased assessee, Sulochana Devi Bagaria, concerning the validity of reassessment proceedings initiated under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The core issue before the Tribunal was whether a reassessment notice issued under Section 148 to a person who was already deceased at the time of issuance is legally valid, and whether the subsequent proceedings are therefore null and void.
Factual Background
The appeals were preferred by the legal representative of the assessee, Sulochana Devi Bagaria, for the Assessment Year (AY) 2015-16, against separate orders of the National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC)/CIT(A).
The undisputed facts are:
1. The assessee, Sulochana Devi Bagaria, died on November 26, 2015.
2. The notice under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, initiating reassessment proceedings, was issued on March 31, 2021, over five years after the assessee’s death.
3. The Assessing Officer (AO) passed an ex parte reassessment order against the deceased person due to a lack of response.
4. The Legal Representative (LR) brought the fact of the assessee’s death to the attention of the CIT(A) during the first appeal proceedings, but the CIT(A) still passed the appellate order against the deceased person.
The contention of the assessee’s counsel was that the entire reassessment proceeding was bad in law from its inception, as the jurisdictional notice was issued to a dead person, making all subsequent orders nullities. Conversely, the Departmental Representative (DR) argued that the notice and order should not be considered illegal because the Legal Representative failed to inform the Department about the death of the assessee.
