Tribunal Declares Orders Under Section 263 on Deceased Individuals Void; Relies on Delhi and Madras HC Rulings.

The Appellate Tribunal quashed the order passed under section 263 on a deceased assessee, deeming it void ab initio. The Tribunal relied on legal precedents, including judgments from the Delhi HC and Madras HC, which established that orders on deceased individuals are null and void. Consequently, all subsequent proceedings were also declared invalid. The appeal by the assessee was partly allowed, reinforcing the principle that orders under section 263 on deceased persons lack legal validity.

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The appeal in this case was filed by the assessee against the order of the Ld. Pr. Commissioner of Income Tax, Rohtak dated 04.03.2022 for the AY 2017-18 passed under section 263 of the Act. The issues presented and considered in this case are as follows:1. Whether an order passed under section 263 on a deceased person is valid.2. Whether the business income surrendered at the time of survey was liable to be added back under sections 68/69/69A/69B/69C of the Act.3. Whether the order passed by the Pr. CIT was erroneous and prejudicial to the interest of the revenue.The Appellate Tribunal considered the arguments presented by the assessee's counsel, who contended that the order passed on a deceased person is void ab initio. The counsel supported this argument with a death certificate issued by the Municipal Corporation, Panipat. The Tribunal also referred to previous judgments that supported the proposition that an order passed on a deceased person is null and void in the eyes of the law.The Tribunal analyzed the legal framework and precedents related to orders passed on deceased persons. It cited the case of Savita Kapila where the Delhi High Court quashed a notice issued under section 148 of the Act on a deceased assessee. The Tribunal also referred to the decision of the Madras High Court in Alamelu Veerappan vs. ITO, which highlighted the limitations of section 159 of the Act in cases where proceedings were initiated after the assessee's death.Based on the legal principles established in previous judgments, the Tribunal concluded that the order passed under section 263 on the deceased assessee was null and void. Therefore, the Tribunal quashed the order and held that all subsequent proceedings were equally invalid. As a result, the appeal of the assessee was partly allowed.The significant holdings of this judgment include the Tribunal's determination that an order passed under section 263 on a deceased person is void ab initio, citing relevant legal precedents to support this conclusion.In summary, the Tribunal held that an order passed under section 263 on a deceased person is not valid and, therefore, quashed the order in this case.

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