Valid service on dissolved firm requires notice to erstwhile partners, not affixation at the old business premises.

Where a firm had already been dissolved and the taxing authority had been informed of the dissolution and closure, service of reassessment notice by affixation on the old business premises in the firm's name was held to be invalid. The proper course was service on the erstwhile partners, because notice addressed only to a non-existent firm could not satisfy the requirement of valid service. The Tribunal's approach was consistent with the Full Bench view relied upon, and the reassessment was not sustainable on that ground.

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Issues: Whether service of notice under section 21 by affixation on a dissolved firm was valid, and whether reassessment could be sustained when the Department had been informed of dissolution and closure.

Analysis: The firm had been dissolved before the notice was issued, and the Department had been informed of the dissolution and closure. In these circumstances, service addressed only to the firm at its old place of business, and presumed on the basis of affixation, was held to be insufficient. The notice ought to have been served on the erstwhile partners, and the Tribunal's view was found to be in line with the Full Bench decision relied upon by it.

Conclusion: Service by affixation on the dissolved firm was not valid service, and the reassessment proceedings could not be faulted on that ground. The revisions were, therefore, dismissed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a firm has been dissolved and the taxing authority is informed of that fact, notice for reassessment must be served on the erstwhile partners; service addressed only to the dissolved firm by affixation is not valid service.

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