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DATE: April 9, 2021 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: April 24, 2021 (Date of publication)
AY: 2012-13
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CITATION:
Article 226/ s. 147: (i) A Writ Petition can be filed in the Bombay High Court against an order passed in Delhi if the assessee is based in Mumbai. The litigant has the right to go to ‘a Court’ where part of cause of action arises. (ii) A s. 148 notice & s. 147 reassessment order passed against an amalgamated (non-existing) company is without jurisdiction. The defect cannot be treated as procedural defect. Mere participation of the assessee in the assessment proceedings is of no effect as there is no estoppel against law. Such a defect cannot be cured by invoking section 292B (All imp judgements referred)

The consequence of approved scheme of amalgamation was that amalgamating company had ceased to exist and on its ceasing to exist, it cannot be regarded as a person against whom assessment proceeding can be initiated. In said case before notice under Section 143(2) of the Act was issued on 26.9.2013, the scheme of amalgamation had been approved by the high court with effect from 1.4.2012. It has been observed that assessment order passed for the assessment year 2012-13 in the name of non-existing entity is a substantive illegality and would not be procedural violation of Section 292 (b) of the Act. The Supreme Court in its aforesaid decision, has quoted an extract from its decision in Saraswati Industrial Syndicate Ltd. Vs. CIT8. The Supreme Court has also referred to decision of Delhi high court in the case of CIT Vs. Spice Enfotainment Ltd.9and observed that in its decision Delhi high court had held that assessment order passed against non-existing company would be void. Such defect cannot be treated as procedural defect and mere participation of appellant would be of no effect as there is no estoppel against law. Such a defect cannot be cured by invoking provisions under section 292B

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DATE: July 25, 2019 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: July 27, 2019 (Date of publication)
AY: -
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CITATION:
S. 170/ 292BB: A notice issued in the name of the amalgamating entity after amalgamation is void because the amalgamating entity ceases to exist. Participation in the proceedings by the assessee cannot operate as an estoppel against law. This is a substantive illegality and not a procedural violation of the nature adverted to in s. 292BB. There is a value which the court must abide by in promoting the interest of certainty in tax litigation. Not doing so will only result in uncertainty and displacement of settled expectations. There is a significant value which must attach to observing the requirement of consistency and certainty. Individual affairs are conducted and business decisions are made in the expectation of consistency, uniformity and certainty. To detract from those principles is neither expedient nor desirable.

In the present case, despite the fact that the assessing officer was informed of the amalgamating company having ceased to exist as a result of the approved scheme of amalgamation, the jurisdictional notice was issued only in its name. The basis on which jurisdiction was invoked was fundamentally at odds with the legal principle that the amalgamating entity ceases to exist upon the approved scheme of amalgamation. Participation in the proceedings by the appellant in the circumstances cannot operate as an estoppel against law. This position now holds the field in view of the judgment of a co-ordinate Bench of two learned judges which dismissed the appeal of the Revenue in Spice Enfotainment

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DATE: April 5, 2019 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: April 20, 2019 (Date of publication)
AY: 2007-08
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CITATION:
S. 148 Reopening: As per settled law, notice for reopening of assessment against a dead person is invalid. The fact that the AO was not informed of the death before issue of notice is irrelevant. Consequently, the s. 148 notice is set aside and order of assessment stands annulled (Alamelu Veerappan 257 TM 72 (Mad) followed)

There are several judgments of different High Courts holding that the notice or reopening of assessment is invalid in law. It is not necessary to refer to all the judgments on the point. Suffice it to say, as per the settled law, notice for reopening of assessment against a dead person is invalid

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DATE: June 7, 2018 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: August 29, 2018 (Date of publication)
AY: 2010-11
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CITATION:
S. 159/ 292B: There is no obligation on the part of the legal representatives of a deceased assessee to intimate the death of the assessee or take steps to cancel the PAN registration. A notice issued in the name of a dead person is unenforceable in law. The fact that the Revenue had no knowledge about the death of the assessee does not change the law. The defect is fatal and is not curable u/s 292B. The legal representatives are liable u/s 159 only if proceedings have already been initiated when the assessee was alive and are continued against the legal heirs

Nothing has been placed before this Court by the Revenue to show that there is a statutory obligation on the part of the legal representatives of the deceased assessee to immediately intimate the death of the assessee or take steps to cancel the PAN registration.

18. In such circumstances, the question would be as to whether Section 159 of the Act would get attracted. The answer to this question would be in the negative, as the proceedings under Section 159 of the Act can be invoked only if the proceedings have already been initiated when the assessee was alive and was permitted for the proceedings to be continued as against the legal heirs

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DATE: June 19, 2018 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: June 20, 2018 (Date of publication)
AY: 2012-13
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CITATION:
S. 159/ 163/ 176: While a notice/ order on a dead person/ wound-up company is a nullity, this is subject to the condition that the department is made aware of the death/ winding-up. If the legal representative, either voluntarily or in response to a notice issued against the deceased but served upon his agent, allows the assessment proceedings to continue against the deceased/ wound-up company without any objection and lets the AO make an assessment order, it would not be open for him to take a plea at the appellate stage, as a last resort or as an afterthought, that the proceedings taken and the assessment order made against the deceased/ wound-up company are nullity. In such cases, the assessment is liable to be set-aside for a fresh assessment in accordance with law instead of its annulment

In the instant case before us, we have observed that compliance of the assessment proceeding before the Assessing Officer has been made from time to time by the persons authorized in this behalf and proceedings have not been challenged due to lack of jurisdiction. According to the available records, the validity of the jurisdiction has been challenged for first time before the Ld. DRP. In view of the above circumstances, following the finding of the Hon’ble Gujarat High Court in the case of CIT Vs. Sumantbhai C Munshaw (1981) 128 ITR 142 the assessment order should not be nullified

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DATE: March 21, 2017 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: April 5, 2017 (Date of publication)
AY: -
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CITATION:
S. 132/ 158BC, 158BD: The fact that the search was invalid because the warrant was in the name of a dead person does not make the s. 158BC/158BD proceedings invalid if the assessee participated in them. Information discovered in the search, if capable of generating the satisfaction for issuing a s. 158BD notice, cannot altogether become irrelevant because the search is invalid

The point urged before us, shortly put, is that if the original search warrant is invalid the consequential action under Section 158BD would also be invalid. We do not agree. The issue of invalidity of the search warrant was not raised at any point of time prior to the notice under Section 158BD. In fact, the petitioner had participated in the proceedings of assessment initiated under Section 158BC of the Act. The information discovered in the course of the search, if capable of generating the satisfaction for issuing a notice under Section 158BD, cannot altogether become irrelevant for further action under Section 158BD of the Act

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DATE: June 8, 2016 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: June 28, 2016 (Date of publication)
AY: 2008-09
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CITATION:
S. 148 notice issued to, and reassessment order passed on, a non-existing entity is without jurisdiction. A writ petition can be entertained despite the presence of alternate remedy

The impugned notice has been issued in respect of a non existing entity as M/s. Addler Security Systems Pvt. Ltd., which stands dissolved, having been struck off the Rolls of the Registrar of Companies much before its issue. Consequently, the assessment has been framed also in respect of the non-existing entity. This defect in issuing a reopening notice to a non-existing company and framing an assessment consequent thereto is a issue which goes to the root of the jurisdiction of the Assessing Officer to assess the non-existing company

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DATE: June 10, 2016 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: June 28, 2016 (Date of publication)
AY: 2011-12
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CITATION:
S. 263: In challenging the validity of a s. 263 revision order, the validity of the underlying s. 143(3) assessment order which is sought to be revised can be examined even if the said assessment order has not been challenged and has become final. If the assessment order is passed on a non-existent entity, the revision order is void

There is no doubt that after passing of the original assessment order, the primary (i.e. original proceedings) had come to an end and attained finality and, therefore, outcome of the same cannot be disturbed, and therefore, the original assessment order framed to conclude the primary proceedings had also attained finality and it also cannot be disturbed at the instance of the assessee, except as permitted under the law and by following the due process of law. Under these circumstances, it can be said that effect of the original assessment order cannot be erased or modified subsequently. In other words, whatever tax liability had been determined in the original assessment order that had already become final and that cannot be sought to be disturbed by the assessee. But, the issue that arises here is that if the original assessment order is illegal in terms of its jurisdiction or if the same is null & void in the eyes of law on any jurisdictional grounds, then, whether it can give rise to initiation of further proceedings and whether such subsequent proceedings would be valid under the law as contained in Income Tax Act? It has been vehemently argued before us that the subsequent proceedings (i.e. collateral proceedings) derive strength only from the order passed in the original proceedings (i.e. primary proceedings). Thus, if order passed in the original proceedings is itself illegal, then that cannot give rise to valid revision proceedings

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DATE: October 15, 2015 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: May 6, 2016 (Date of publication)
AY: -
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CITATION:
S. 153A/ 153C: If the assessee stands amalgamated with another Co, it ceases to exists and all proceedings of search u/s 132, notice and assessment u/s 153C on the assessee are a nullity and void ab initio

In identical circumstances, in cases arising out of the same search, this Court has invalidated the assessment proceedings against the Assessee in those cases which, on account of having merged with another entity with effect from a date anterior to the search, also no longer existed on the date of search, on the date of the issue of notice and consequent assessment order passed under Section 153 C of the Act.

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DATE: July 29, 2015 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: September 28, 2015 (Date of publication)
AY: -
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CITATION:
Entire law on the taxation of deceased persons and their estate explained in the context of the Income-tax Act and the Central Excise Act

The individual assessee has ordinarily to be a living person and there can be no assessment on a dead person and the assessment is a charge in respect of the income of the previous year and not a charge in respect of the income of the year of assessment as measured by the income of the previous year. Wallace Brothers & Co. Ltd. v Commissioner of Income-tax. By section 24B of the Income-tax Act the legal representatives have, by fiction of law, become assessees as provided in that section but that fiction cannot be extended beyond the object for which it was enacted

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