Ashok Kumar Pinjani Vs ITO (Chhattisgarh High Court)
The case was decided by the Chhattisgarh High Court in an appeal filed under Section 260A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 challenging an order dated 18 June 2025 passed by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal.
The appeal was filed by the appellant as the legal heir of her late husband, the original assessee, who had passed away on 8 July 2018. The dispute related to reassessment proceedings for Assessment Year 2013–14. On 25 March 2019, the Assessing Officer issued a notice under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act to the deceased assessee, despite the fact that he had already died. As there was no response to the notice, the Assessing Officer proceeded to complete the assessment under Section 144 of the Act. An assessment order was subsequently passed on 28 November 2019 making an addition of ₹17,77,960 under Section 69A.
The appellant, acting as legal heir, challenged the assessment order before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) under Section 246A by filing an appeal on 20 February 2020. The appellant argued that the notice issued under Section 148 to a deceased person was illegal, invalid, and without jurisdiction. However, by order dated 11 March 2025 passed under Section 250, the Commissioner (Appeals) set aside the assessment order and remanded the matter to the Assessing Officer for further action. While doing so, the Commissioner (Appeals) rejected the jurisdictional objection raised by the appellant and invoked Section 150(1) of the Act, directing the Assessing Officer to re-initiate reassessment proceedings.
