GST Assessment Order Against Deceased Person Unsustainable: Madras HC [Read Order]

The Madras High Court has ruled that the GST (Goods and Services Tax) assessment order issued under Section 74(9) of the Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Tax (TNGST) Act, 2017 against the deceased person is unsustainable.

The Court was hearing a writ petition filed by the widow of the assessee, challenging the validity of the assessment orders passed against her late husband.

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The petitioner submitted that her husband, Mr. Thangaraj, had passed away on 17.10.2022, but the assessment orders in his name were issued much later, on 02.09.2024. Citing this, the petitioner argued that the orders were invalid as they had been issued against a person who was no longer alive at the time of assessment.

Appearing for the State, Government Advocate Mr. J.K. Jeyaseelan acknowledged that the Department had not been informed of the assessee's death by the legal heirs. However, the petitioner produced documentary evidence including a death certificate confirming the date of death and a legal heirship certificate dated 26.11.2022, which showed that the deceased had left behind three Class-I legal heirs, including the petitioner.

Taking note of these facts, Justice Vivek Kumar Singh concluded that the assessment orders passed against a dead person were legally untenable. Accordingly, the Court set aside the impugned orders, while granting liberty to the Department to initiate fresh proceedings in accordance with law against the legal heirs of the deceased assessee.

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The Court clarified that all legal contentions were left open for the petitioner and other legal heirs to raise during any such future proceedings.

To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE

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