The Mumbai Bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has held that the assessment order passed against the dead person would be invalid.
The assessee is an individual, Mohammad Sharif Siddiqui filed his return and assessing officer found that during the course of assessment proceedings that assessee had expired in the month of January, 2019 and the legal heir filed the submission during the course of assessment proceedings and subsequently, the assessment order was passed wherein the addition was made as unexplained money was found in assessee’s bank account. The assessment order was passed on 17th December, 2019 in the name of late Mohammad Sharif Siddique.
The Principal Commissioner of Income Tax found that non- initiation of penalty under Section 271AAC of the Act by the learned Assessing Officer rendered the order erroneous and prejudicial to the interest of the Revenue. He passed the order under Section 263 of the Act in the name of Mohammad Sharif Siddique directing AO to initiate the penalty proceedings under Section 271AAC of the Act.
Assessee raised grounds that the order under Section 263 of the Income Tax Act 1961 and assessment orders were invalid as it was passed in the name of the deceased person.
Sanjeev Kashyap, who appeared for the revenue, relied upon the impugned orders.
The Divisional Bench of Prashant Maharishi (Accountant Member) and Pavan Kumar Gadale, (Judicial Member) allowed the appeal quashing the impugned order and observed that “In the assessment order itself, the learned Assessing Officer has mentioned that he has come to know through e-portal that the assessee have expired in the month of January, 2019. The 263 order is invalid as the same is passed in the name of the deceased person. It was also stated that an assessment order is also passed in the name of the dead person.”
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