2008 (7) TMI 393 - HC - Income Tax

Return whether null and void signature u/s 140 assessment u/s 143(3) legal heirs deceased person can or can not authorized a person to represent his case or to sign his return held that - the return was filed on 28.11.2003. On that day the assessee had already expired. The return filed with the signatures of the assessee after his death cannot be taken as a valid return filed by the assessee himself. Undisputedly the return was neither signed nor verified by the legal heirs of the deceased. - Therefore the return filed in this case was null and void because the assessee was not alive at the time of filing of the return - no valid assessment could have been made on the basis of an invalid and void return

Summary

Issues:
Validity of assessment based on a return filed after the death of the assessee.

Analysis:
The High Court heard an appeal filed by the Revenue against the order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) regarding the assessment year 2003-04. The main issue was whether the ITAT was correct in upholding the order of the Commissioner of Income Tax (CIT) that the return of income and assessment framed after the death of the assessee were null and void. The deceased assessee had filed the return of income before his death, but it was submitted after his demise. The legal heirs challenged the assessment, arguing that the return filed after the death of the assessee was invalid. The CIT (A) agreed with the legal heirs, stating that any action based on such a return was also null and void. The ITAT upheld the CIT (A)'s decision, emphasizing that the deceased assessee did not authorize anyone to file the return on his behalf after his death. The High Court examined the relevant provisions of the Income Tax Act, which require the return to be signed and verified by the individual or a duly authorized person. In this case, the return filed after the death of the assessee was not signed or verified by the legal heirs. The High Court referred to a previous judgment to support the conclusion that actions based on void authorizations are null and void. Therefore, the High Court affirmed the decision of the ITAT and concluded that no valid assessment could be made based on an invalid return filed after the assessee's death. As a result, the appeal by the Revenue was dismissed, and no substantial question of law was found to be considered further.