Reassessment notice to a deceased assessee is invalid where legal heirs are not served or brought on record.

A reassessment notice issued under section 148 in the name of a deceased assessee is invalid where the legal heirs are not served and the legal representative is not brought on record before completion of proceedings. The statutory requirement to continue proceedings through the legal representative was not complied with, because the assessee had died before issuance of notice and no fresh notice was issued to the heirs. As a result, the consequential reassessment orders could not stand.

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Issues: Whether a notice issued under section 148 in the name of a deceased assessee, without serving the legal heirs or bringing the legal representative on record, is valid and whether the consequential assessment can survive.

Analysis: The record showed that the assessee had died before issuance of the reassessment notice and that no fresh notice was issued to the legal heirs. The legal representative was not duly brought on record before the reassessment proceedings were completed. In such circumstances, the statutory requirement that proceedings against a deceased person be continued through the legal representative was not complied with.

Conclusion: The notice issued under section 148 was invalid and the consequential assessment orders could not stand.

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