TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (9) TMI 1851
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....nce 1997 and had been filing income tax returns from 2005-2006 onwards. 2. For the assessment year 2018-19, the draft assessment order under Section 143(3) r/w Section 144 B of the Income Tax Act was issued to the deceased assessee on 21.05.2021 by the 2nd respondent. Later, the show cause notice dated 24.05.2021, which is Ext.P2, was also issued to the deceased assessee, requiring him to furnish objections, if any, to the draft assessment order, and the date fixed for such objections was on 27.05.2021, which was within three days from the date of Ext.P2. According to the petitioner, the deceased assessee was admitted to the hospital on 26.05.2021, and therefore, an application was submitted seeking extension of time to submit the reply.....
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....violation of the principles of natural justice. The learned counsel for the petitioner also brought to the attention of this Court, a press release made by the Central Board of Direct Taxes on 20.05.2021, requiring the officers concerned not to fix any hearing of cases up to 10.06.2021. This was issued in view of the fact that, in preparation for the launch of E-filing and migration activities, the existing portal of the department would not be available to taxpayers and other external stakeholders for a period of six days from 01.06.2021 to 06.06.2021. In this case, the hearing was scheduled on 05.06.2021. Therefore, on that ground also, an interference is required, points out the learned counsel for the petitioner. 7. On the other hand....
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....ncome of the deceased and for the purpose of levying any sum in the hands of the legal representative in accordance with the provisions of subsection (1), (a) any proceeding taken against the deceased before his death shall be deemed to have been taken against the legal representative and may be continued against the legal representative from the stage at which it stood on the date of the death of the deceased; (b) any proceeding that could have been taken against the deceased if he had survived may be taken against the legal representative; and (c) All the provisions of this Act shall apply accordingly. (3) The legal representative of the deceased shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be an a....
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....ection 2(b) further contemplates that, any proceeding that could have been taken against the deceased, if he had survived, may be taken against the legal representative; and all the provisions of this Act shall apply accordingly. 11. On carefully going through the statutory stipulations as referred to above in Sec. 159, it is evident that the Department could have continued the proceedings against the legal representatives upon the death of the assessee from the stage at which it stood at the time of the death of the assessee. 12. In this case, the death of the deceased was at a time when the assessment proceedings were in progress, and the death happened just before the date on which, the hearing of the assessment was proposed to be ....
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....rse, it is pointed out by the learned Standing Counsel for the respondent that the petitioner failed to intimate the death to the 2nd respondent. However, I am not inclined to accept the said contention for more than one reason. Firstly, it is to be noted that, the death of the deceased, who is none other than the husband of the petitioner, took place on 03.06.2021, and the hearing was scheduled on 05.06.2021. The order was passed on 17.06.2021. Expecting a wife, who lost her husband just days before the proposed hearing date, to submit an intimation immediately after such death, to the Income Tax Authorities as to his death, is highly irrational and impractical. Evidently, the priorities at that point in time, for a person who is under the....