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Facts
The assessee's appeal was against the order of the CIT(A) for AY 2009-10. No one appeared for the assessee, so the appeal was heard with the assistance of the DR. The assessee's grievance was that the assessment order was passed in the name of a dead person.
Held
The Tribunal noted that the assessee had passed away, and the appeal was filed by the legal heir. Given the circumstances, the Tribunal set aside the impugned order and restored the issue to the file of the CIT(A) for de novo adjudication, directing that the legal heir be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard.
Key Issues
Whether the assessment order passed in the name of a deceased person is valid. Whether the legal heir should be given an opportunity to present their case.
Sections Cited
144
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, DELHI ‘E’ BENCH,
Before: SHRI MAHAVIR SINGH, & SHRI NAVEEN CHANDRA
This appeal by the assessee is directed against the order of the ld. CIT(A) dated 22.03.2023 pertaining to A.Y 2009-10. 2. None appeared for and on behalf of the assessee. We decided to proceed ahead with the assistance of the ld. DR. Therefore, the ld. DR was heard at length and the case records carefully perused. 3. The sum and substance of the grievance of the assessee is that the Assessing Officer erred in framing the assessment order in the name of a dead person.
At the very outset, the ld. counsel for the assessee submitted that due to the death of his father, the case of the assessee was not presented property before the authorities below and hence the Assessing Officer made addition u/s 144 of the Act. It was prayed that the case may be set aside to the file of the Assessing Officer as was done in the case of the assessee himself in the A.Ys 2010-11 to 2019-20 vide order dated 16.04.2024 by the co-ordinate bench of ITAT, Delhi Benches in ITA 3759,3800,3801,3856,3802,3784/Del/2023.
Per contra, the ld. DR did not raise any serious objection.
We have heard the ld. DR at length and have perused the relevant material on record. We find that the ITAT vide order dated 16.04.2024 in the case of the assessee himself [supra] had set aside the assessment to the file of the Assessing Officer for de novo adjudication. It would be pertinent to reproduce the relevant portion of the order for ready reference which read as under:
“4. Having heard learned Departmental Representative and perused materials on record, we find that in course of proceedings before learned First Appellate Authority, the assessee passed away. The present appeals have been filed by the legal heir of the assessee. Thus, the materials on record do suggest that the assessee was having health issues, which ultimately resulted in his demise. This could be the reason for which the assessee was unable to effectively
Page 2 of 5 participate in the proceedings before the Assessing Officer and learned First Appellate Authority and comply with their queries. Since, both the assessment as well as first appellate proceedings were completed ex parte, in absence of the assessee, resulting in various additions purely due to lack of explanation and supporting evidences from assessee’s side, we are of the view that the assessee deserves an opportunity to explain his position qua the additions made through proper explanation and supporting evidences. For enabling the assessee to do so, we are inclined to set aside the impugned orders of learned First Appellate Authority and restore the issues to the file of the Assessing Officer for de novo adjudication, after providing due and reasonable opportunity of being heard to the assessee. We further make it clear that the assessee must comply with various queries made or to be made by the Assessing Officer and furnish the requisite documents/ evidences, as may be called for. The assessee must cooperate with the Assessing Officer in finalizing the proceedings. With the aforesaid observations, grounds are allowed for statistical purposes.”
The facts and circumstances being identical, we hold that in the interest of justice and fair play, the instant impugned order be set aside to the file of the CIT(A) for a fresh adjudication. The CIT(A) is directed to obtain a report from the AO on the issues raised before him and reconsider the materials before him. Needless to say that the CIT(A)
Page 3 of 5 legal heir of the assessee before adjudicating the issues at hand.
The legal heir of the assessee is also directed to provide necessary information/documents as required by the authorities to support his case. With the above directions the grounds of appeal raised by the assessee are allowed for statistical purposes. allowed for statistical purposes.
Order pronounced in open court on 03.10.2025.