LATE SHREENIWAS JOSHI,RANCHI V. ACIT, CIRCLE-3, RANCHI

ITA 466/RAN/2024

AI Insights

The case involves the legal heir of Late Shreeniwas Joshi contesting an assessment order passed by the Assessing Officer in the names of deceased individuals, including the original assessee and his legal heir, without proper notice to the new legal heir, Suresh Joshi. The Tribunal examined the procedural lapses in the issuance of notices and the subsequent assessment, which led to the quashing of the assessment order. The primary legal contention was the failure to adhere to the procedural requirements of issuing a fresh notice to the legal heir after the deaths of the original assessee and his wife.

• Counselvise Citation: [2025] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 669402 (ITAT-RANCHI)
• Appeal Type: Income Tax Appeal
• Pronouncement Date: 24-06-2025
• Appeal Filed By: Assessee
• Order Result: Allowed
• Bench Allotted: SMC
• Assessment Year: 2001-2002
• Laws Referred To: Income Tax Act
• Result in Favour of: Assessee
• Court: TRIBUNAL
• Keywords: Set aside; Principle of natural justice
• Section: 143(3); 142(1)

Judgement Text

" IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL “SMC” BENCH, RANCHI VIRTUAL HEARING AT KOLKATA Before Shri Sonjoy Sarma, Judicial Member and Shri Ratnesh Nandan Sahay, Accountant Member I.T.A. No.466/Ran/2024 Assessment Year: 2001-02 Late Shreeniwas Joshi....................................…...........................……….……Appellant Through L/H Suresh Joshi, Adarsh Market, Upper Bazar, Ranchi-834001. [PAN: AAVPJ1437H] vs. ACIT, Circle-3, Ranchi……........…..….…..….........……........……...…..…..Respondent Appearances by: Shri Devesh Poddar, Advocate, appeared on behalf of the appellant. Shri Khubchand T. Pandya, Sr. DR, appeared on behalf of the Respondent. Date of concluding the hearing : June 19, 2025 Date of pronouncing the order : June 24, 2025 ORDER Per Sonjoy Sarma, Judicial Member: The present appeal has been preferred by the assessee against an order dated 10.10.2024 of the National Faceless Appeal Centre [hereinafter referred to as ‘CIT(A)’] passed u/s 250 of the Income Tax Act (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Act’). 2. Brief facts of the case are that in the present case legal heir of Late Shree Niwas Joshi for the assessment year 2001-02 return was filed on 31.03.2002 by declaring total income of Rs.12,12,480/- which was processed u/s 143(1) of the Act. Subsequently, notice u/s 143(2) of the Act was issued to the assessee. Thereafter, the assessment was completed u/s 143(3) of the Act determining total income of Rs.31,39,384/-on 31.03.2004 by making an addition of Rs.19,26,904/-. 2.1 Aggrieved by the above order, the assessee preferred appeal before the ld. CIT(A) where the ld. CIT(A) allowed the appeal of the assessee. I.T.A. No.466/Ran/2024 Late Shreeniwas Joshi 2 2.2 Dissatisfied with the said order, the department went in appeal before the Tribunal where the Tribunal dismissed the departmental appeal. Thereafter, the Assessing Officer passed an order u/s 147/144 of the Act by assessing total income of the assessee at Rs.17,83,004/- on 30.12.2008 by making an addition of Rs.5,66,504/- on the issue of expenditure claimed in respect of godown expenditure. Against this order, the Tribunal vide order dated 15.09.2017 has directed the Assessing Officer to provide an adequate opportunity of hearing to the assessee and in consequent to that further notice u/s 142(1) was issued to the assessee calling for relevant details regarding rental income received from godown. However, there was no compliance made on behalf of the assessee. In absence of relevant documents, the Assessing Officer assessed the total income of the assessee in following manner: Assessed income : Rs.12,20,527/- Add: Expenditure claimed at Dhanbad Branch : Rs.84,255/- Expenditure claimed at Jamshedpur Br. : Rs.4,82,249/- Total income : Rs.17,87,031/- 3. Dissatisfied with the above order, the assessee preferred an appeal before the ld. CIT(A) against the assessment order. However, the ld. CIT(A) dismissed the appeal of the assessee by simply upholding the order of the Assessing Officer. 4. Aggrieved by the said order, the assessee filed the present appeal before this Tribunal raising various grounds. However, the primary contention of the assessee is that when the original assessee namely Late Shree Niwas Joshi died, his wife Smt. Sita Devi Joshi was appointed as legal heir but she too passed away on 18.11.2018 and Shri Suresh Joshi, son of the deceased Late Shree Niwas Joshi informed the fact to the Assessing Officer by a letter stating that his mother was died and requested that he be treated as legal heir of Late Shree Niwas Joshi. I.T.A. No.466/Ran/2024 Late Shreeniwas Joshi 3 Despite this fact on record, the assessment order was framed on 18.12.2018 in the name of deceased i.e. Late Shree Niwas Joshi, L/H Smt. Sita Devi Joshi. The contention of the ld. AR is that when the assessment order was passed in the name of persons who were died at the time of framing of the order and without furnishing fresh notice to the correct legal heir, the same order is illegal and the assessment order is liable to be set aside. He further stated that as per section 153(2) r.w.r. 4 of the I.T. Rules, the Assessing Officer must issue fresh notice of the assessment to the successor once the original assessee has died and legal heir also died and failing to do so vitiates the entire proceedings. 5. The ld. DR supported the decisions rendered by the authorities below. 6. We, after hearing of the ld. DR and perusing the materials available on record, find that the legal heir of original assessee Late Shree Niwas Joshi i.e. Smt. Sita Devi Joshi has died on 18.11.2018 and the assessee informed the fact to the Assessing Officer vide letter dated 27.11.2018 and the Assessing Officer is required to correct the name of legal heir as Suresh Joshi upon which fresh notice is to be issued but the Assessing Officer framed the assessment order on 18.12.2018 in the name of non- existent persons without issuing any fresh notice to the correct legal heir i.e. Suresh Joshi. This action of the Assessing Officer is devoid of principle of natural justice and statutory compliance and the defect cannot be cured in subsequent stage. Therefore, in the instant case, the assessment order dated 18.12.2018 is bad in law as it is passed against the persons who had both already died or pre-deceased and the assessment order was passed without issuing of notice to the proper legal heir, although information was available at the time of framing of assessment order. Considering the above facts, we find that the impugned order passed by the Assessing Officer is null and void and the same is hereby quashed. In terms of the above, the alleged addition made I.T.A. No.466/Ran/2024 Late Shreeniwas Joshi 4 in the case of the deceased assessee is liable to be set aside and the appeal filed by the Suresh Joshi on behalf of Late Shree Niwas Joshi is hereby allowed. 7. In the result, the appeal of the assessee is allowed. Kolkata, the 24th June, 2025. Sd/- Sd/- [Ratnesh Nandan Sahay] [Sonjoy Sarma] Accountant Member Judicial Member Dated: 24.06.2025. RS Copy of the order forwarded to: 1. Appellant 2. Respondent 3. CIT(A)- 4. CIT- , 5. CIT(DR), //True copy// By order Assistant Registrar, Kolkata Benches "