Reassessment – Notice u/s 148 of ITA, 1961 – Validity – Notice issued in name of dead person – Objection to notice by legal heir and representative – Department intimated about death of assessee in reply to summons issued u/s 131(1A) – Legal heir not submitting to jurisdiction of A.O. in response to notice of reassessment u/s 148 – Provisions of section 292A not attracted – Notice and proceedings invalid

6. Durlabhai Kanubhai Rajpara vs. ITO [2020] 424 ITR 428 (Guj.) Date of order: 26^th March, 2019 A.Y.: 2011-12

Reassessment – Notice u/s 148 of ITA, 1961 – Validity – Notice issued in name of dead person – Objection to notice by legal heir and representative – Department intimated about death of assessee in reply to summons issued u/s 131(1A) – Legal heir not submitting to jurisdiction of A.O. in response to notice of reassessment u/s 148 – Provisions of section 292A not attracted – Notice and proceedings invalid

For the A.Y. 2011-12, the A.O. issued a notice in the name of the assessee who was the father of the petitioner u/s 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 dated 28^th March, 2018 to reopen the assessment u/s 147. Even prior to that, the Deputy Director (Investigation) had issued a witness summons u/s 131(1A) in the name of the assessee, the father of the petitioner, to personally attend the office and the notice was served upon the petitioner. The petitioner furnished the death certificate of his late father before the authority and submitted that he had expired on 12^th June, 2015, therefore, the notice was required to be withdrawn. Thereafter, the notice in question dated 28^th March, 2018 was issued in the name of the late assessee. The petitioner also received a notice dated 16^th July, 2018 issued u/s 142(1) on 17^th July, 2018. The petitioner filed a reply and submitted that his father had expired on 12^th June, 2015 and a copy of the death certificate was also annexed. The petitioner also contended in his reply that the fact of the death of his father was disclosed pursuant to the summons issued by the Deputy Director (Investigation) u/s 131(1A), that the notice issued u/s 148 was without any jurisdiction as it was issued against a dead person and prayed that the proceedings be dropped. The Department rejected the objections.

The Gujarat High Court allowed the writ petition filed by the petitioner and held as under:

‘i)  The petitioner at the first point of time had objected to the issuance of notice u/s 148 in the name of his deceased father (assessee) and had not participated or filed any return pursuant to the notice. Therefore, the legal representatives not having waived the requirement of notice and not having submitted to the jurisdiction of the A.O. pursuant thereto, the provisions of section 292A would not be attracted and hence the notice had to be treated as invalid.

ii)  Even prior to the issuance of such notice, the Department was aware about the death of the petitioner’s father (the assessee) since in response to the summons issued u/s 131(1A) the petitioner had intimated the Department about the death of the assessee. Therefore, the Department could not say that it was not aware of the death of the petitioner’s father (the assessee) and could have belatedly served the notice u/s 159 upon the legal representatives of the deceased assessee.

iii) The notice dated 28^th March, 2018 issued in the name of the deceased assessee by the A.O. u/s 148 as well as further proceedings thereto were to be quashed and set aside.’