KARNATAKA HIGH COURT: ASSESSMENT ORDER PASSED AGAINST DEAD PERSON IS NULLITY

The Karnataka High Court in the case Smt. Sowmya S. Versus ITO observed and has held that the assessment order as stated under Section 147 read with Section 144 of the Income Tax Act amounts to nullity.

The court quashed the assessment order.

The bench headed by Justice S. Sunil Dutt Yadav in the case observed that when the assessee dies during the pendency of the proceedings, thus, the proceedings initiated are to be continued through the legal representatives of the deceased.

The court observed that the legal representative of the deceased assessee has questioned the validity of the assessment order passed under Section 147 read with Section 144 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, the validity of the computation sheet, and the validity of the penalty order.