Assessment in name of deceased assessee held invalid where department had prior knowledge of death and ignored legal representative

Reassessment proceedings and the assessment order were invalid where the department had prior notice of the assessee's death, yet notices under sections 143(2) and 142(1) and the final order were ued in the name of the deceased without impleading the legal representative. The defect was treated as substantive, not a curable irregularity under section 292B, because the assessing authority knew of the death before proceeding further. On these facts, the reassessment and assessment order were quashed.

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Issues: Whether the reassessment proceedings and assessment order were valid when the statutory notices and the assessment order were issued in the name of a deceased assessee, despite prior intimation to the department about the death.

Analysis: The department was informed by the legal representative before issuance of the notice under section 143(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 that the assessee had expired, and the return was filed by the legal representative. Even after this knowledge, notices under section 143(2) and section 142(1) were issued in the name of the deceased, and the assessment order was also passed in the name of the dead person without impleading the legal representative. The defect was not a mere curable irregularity under section 292B of the Income-tax Act, 1961, because the assessing authority had knowledge of the death and still failed to take corrective action. The distinction drawn from the contrary authority was that, on the present facts, the department was already aware of the death before proceeding further.

Conclusion: The reassessment and the assessment order were held to be invalid and were quashed in favour of the assessee.

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