Case Law Details
Sumit Balkrishna Gupta Vs ACIT (Bombay High Court)
The issue under consideration is whether the issuing of a notice u/s 143(2) in the name of the wrong person is sustainable in law?
High Court states that it is a fact that the petitioner had filed return for the assessment year 2016-17 in the name of the deceased assessee and not in his name as a legal heir of the deceased assessee. This return was filed on 17.10.2016. However, we note that the return was signed by the petitioner as a Legal Heir. The name of the deceased assessee in the title of the return of income was an inadvertent error. In any event, on 30.1.2017, the petitioner got himself registered as legal heir / representative of the deceased assessee in the software system maintained by the Authority. Thus, the Department was well aware of the fact on the date that the impugned notice dated 31.7.2017 under Section 143(2) was issued, the petitioner is the legal representative of the deceased assessee. Moreover, from the record it has been shown to us that for the earlier assessment years 2014-15, the Revenue has passed an assessment order in the name of the petitioner as legal Representative of the deceased assessee Balkrishna Gupta. A notice issued under Section 143(2) of the Act which gives jurisdiction to complete the assessment having been issued in the name of the dead person is noneset in law as it is not the saved by Section 292B of the Act. The issue of a notice under Section 143(2) of the Act so as to take up the assessment for scrutiny is not a procedural but a substantive provision. Therefore, where a notice is issued in the name of a wrong person, there would be no issuing of notice as required under the Act. In such cases, as in the case of Section 148 of the Act, the issuing of a notice in the name of the wrong person is not a procedural and / or clerical error. Therefore, being a substantive defect, the notice cannot be saved by Section 292B of the Act. In the above view, the impugned notice and the impugned order are quashed and set aside.
FULL TEXT OF THE HIGH COURT ORDER /JUDGEMENT
1. This petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeks to set aside :-
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