Tax notice after a death? Void or valid, who signs, and the years still open

Which notice?

Date of death

Date on the notice

The year it is about

Whose name is on it?

Has anyone already replied or attended a hearing?

What the department already knows

What has been filed

Default: nothing filed yet.

Did an heir carry on the business?

Default: no — most proprietor businesses close.

Also show GST years (the person was GST-registered)

Where the family lives

State (decides the High Court)

Default: Chhattisgarh.

The person and the heirs (for the letter)

Name of the person who died Their PAN / GSTIN The officer's designation and ward (copy from the notice) Notice / DIN number Days to ask for the merits reply

Default 15 — used when the notice continues against the heirs.

Letterhead

Firm name Address Phone / email

FRN

M.No.

CA name Place

Saved on this device for every letter.

Your position

The years still open against the estate

First steps whatever the position

Tell the department of the death with the certificate.
Register the heir as legal representative on the income-tax portal (Authorised Partners → Register as Representative).
Do not pay or reply on merits until the position above is settled.

Releasing bank deposits, shares or property? → Succession checker
Notice already at the order stage? Karan's firm handles these replies and writs → cakarangupta.com

How this works

Income-tax: section 159 of the 1961 Act (section 302 of the 2025 Act from tax year 2026-27, 1 Apr 2026) makes the legal representative answerable for the deceased's tax, limited to the estate; proceedings begun in the lifetime continue against the heirs. A notice issued after the death in the dead person's name or PAN is a nullity — Savita Kapila (Delhi), the Calcutta and Allahabad High Courts in 2026 — and cannot be cured. Reopening is open for 3 years 3 months after the end of the assessment year, or 5 years 3 months where income of ₹50 lakh or more is alleged (section 149 from 1 Sep 2024).

GST: section 93 of the CGST Act makes the person who carried on the business liable in full, and otherwise the legal representative liable out of the estate. A GST notice or order in a dead person's name is void (Madras, Calcutta, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh). Whether fresh proceedings can begin against an heir after the business closed is split — Madras allowed it in V. Damayanti; other benches set such demands aside. Time limits run from the annual-return due date under sections 73, 74 and 74A, with the 2023 extensions for FY 2017-18 to 2019-20.

An heir who distributes estate assets while a tax is unpaid is personally liable up to the value of those assets. The tool does not decide the merits, compute tax, or handle executors, HUFs, firms or companies.