Manjusha Anil Lodha Vs PCIT (ITAT Pune)
PCIT vs. RIP: Tribunal Declares 263 Order Rest in Peace-PCIT Passes 263 Order on a Dead Man – ITAT Pune Quashes It- No Jurisdiction Over the Deceased
In this case, Late Shri Anil Bansilal Lodha had expired on 18.12.2017. His legal heir, Smt. Manjusha Anil Lodha, duly filed the return of income on 30.10.2018 in the capacity of legal representative. The Income Tax Portal also reflected the legal heir registration from 22.10.2018. Despite this, PCIT issued a notice u/s 263 on 05.06.2023 & passed the revisionary order u/s 263 on 21.03.2024 in the name of the deceased assessee & not in the name of the legal heir.
Assessee challenged the order on legal grounds stating that:
(i) An order passed on a dead person is void-ab-initio,
(ii) Section 159 mandates that proceedings must continue only against the legal representative,
(iii) Department was already aware of the death since the legal heir had been filing submissions in earlier proceedings.
The AR relied on multiple judicial precedents including CIT v. M. Hemanathan (Mad HC), Hiraben Babubhai Patel v. PCIT (ITAT Ahmedabad), Mohammad Sharif Siddiqui (ITAT Mumbai), Sheela Devi v. PCIT (ITAT Delhi), all holding that any order or notice issued in the name of a dead person is null & void & cannot be saved by section 292B.
