TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1997 (2) TMI 26
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....e barred under section 73A of the Estate Duty Act as it was mandatory not only to issue the notice but also to serve the same within the period of limitation ?" One Chog Singh had died on February 18, 1969. Consequent upon a survey conducted by the Inspector of the Department, proceedings under the Act were initiated by the Assistant Controller of Estate Duty for levy of estate duty on the chargeable estate of the deceased. A notice by registered post A. D. was, therefore, issued on October 17, 1973, by the Assistant Controller of Estate Duty to the accountable persons, Rajpal Singh and Chachpal Singh, sons of the deceased, at their address, Village Dhani, Tehsil Loharu, District Bhiwani. Since none appeared, notices were again issued un....
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....notice under section 59 of the Act had been issued on October 17, 1973, the period of five years is said to have not expired. Notice had been issued by the Assistant Controller under section 59 of the Act on the ground that the property had escaped assessment. Chog Singh had died on February 18, 1969, and no account of the estate of the deceased had been submitted by the accountable person under section 53 or section 56 of the Act and the matter had been reported on survey by the Inspector of the Department, it was a case under section 59 of the Act. Section 59 of the Act reads as under : "59. Property escaping assessment.---If the Controller,--- (a) has reason to believe that by reason of the omission or failure on the part of ....
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....quired under section 53 of the Act. This power has to be exercised subject to the provisions of section 73A of the Act. Section 73A of the Act reads as under : " 73A. Limitation for commencing proceedings for assessment or reassessment.---No proceedings for the levy of any estate duty under this Act shall be commenced--- (a) in the case of a first assessment, after the expiration of five years from the date of death of the deceased in respect of whose property estate duty became payable ; and (b) in the case of a reassessment, after the expiration of three years from the date of assessment of such property to estate duty under this Act." The above section provides for limitation for commencing proceedings for assessment and r....
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.... was that it was not enough that the notice was sent by the Income-tax Officer but it was necessary that it should have been served on the assessee before the expiration of the period of limitation. The court noticed that the word "issued" occurring in section 149(1) cannot be given the meaning "served". The Full Bench dissented from the views expressed by the High Courts of Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh and also overruled the decision of this court in Tikka Khushwant Singh v. CIT [1975] 101 ITR 106. The Allahabad High Court in CED v. Smt. Manorama Devi [1980] 123 ITR 322, examined a similar question about the period of limitation. In that case, the deceased had died on September 23, 1959, and the notice on the accountable person was served....
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....s barred by limitation under section 73A(b) of the Act. It was held that no proceedings for the levy of estate duty could be commenced in the case of first assessment after five years from the date of the death of the deceased and in the case of reassessment, after three years from the date of first assessment. There also, the Department had argued that limitation should start, under clause (b) of section 73A, from the date of the appellate order and not from the date of assessment. The High Court took the view that, in a case of reassessment, the period of three years shall be computed from the date of first assessment to the date of notice. From a plain reading of section 73A of the Act and also in the light of the observations made by....