Home Case Index All Cases Income Tax Income Tax + HC Income Tax - 2018 (4) TMI HC This
Forgot password New User/ Regiser ⇒ Register to get Live Demo
2018 (4) TMI 801 - HC - Income TaxPenalty u/s 158BFA(2) on the legal representatives - block assessment proceedings - Held that:- Penal proceedings have been initiated, only after the withdrawal of the appeal, filed by the deceased assessee, before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, at the instance of the legal representative of the deceased assessee. If the word, "proceedings", includes "penal proceedings", then the same should have been taken before the death of the deceased. The assessee expired on 14.02.2006. Appeal came to be dismissed as withdrawn. Only after the withdrawal of the appeal, proceedings under Section 158BFA(2) have been initiated only on 31.03.2008, in the block assessment order. A fiction is created whereby proceedings initiated against the deceased when he was alive, would continue against the legal representatives, as they have stepped into the shoes of the deceased, without there being any effect on the legality of the proceedings. Once this legal fiction comes into operation, then Clause (c) will have the consequential effect of applying all the provisions of the Act. In the case on hand, no penal proceedings have been initiated against the assessee, when he was alive. Assessment has not been done in the hands of the legal representatives and therefore, Section 159 of the Income-Tax Act, cannot be applied to the legal representative. The Tribunal has properly considered the facts, provisions and by applying the judgment of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in CIT v. Tikka Ram, through legal heir, Smt.Munni Devi reported in (2008 (5) TMI 710 - PUNJAB & HARYANA HIGH COURT) held that there is no justifiable reason to impose penalty, on the legal representatives, under Section 158BFA(2) of the Income Tax Act. Going through the material on record, we concur with the same. - Decided against revenue
|