GST Proceedings Cannot Be Initiated Against Deceased Proprietor: Andhra Pradesh High Court Reiterates

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has recently reiterated that GST authorities cannot initiate assessment or adjudication proceedings in the name of a deceased proprietor, even where the tax demand relates to a period when the business was active.

A Division Bench of Justice R. Raghunandan Rao and Justice T.C.D. Sekhar clarified that Section 93 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, a provision that allows recovery of tax payable by deceased persons, does not authorise the initiation of fresh assessment proceedings against a dead person.

“It is settled law that the assessments and other proceedings can only be initiated against the persons who are living, and such proceedings against a dead person would not be valid,” the court observed.

The bench was hearing a petition filed by Baratam Satish, who challenged a show cause notice dated August 16, 2023, and a consequential assessment order dated January 25, 2024, both issued in the name of his late father, B. Kameswara Rao. Rao.

Rao had passed away on December 20, 2021. He had been running a proprietary concern, Aravinda Enterprises, which later ceased operations on February 20, 2023, and whose GST deregistration was approved in April 2023.

Despite this, the GST department proceeded to assess tax liability for the period from July 2017 to March 2018 and raised a demand of Rs 28,952 along with interest under the reverse charge mechanism against the dead taxpayer

Satish argued that once his father had died and the business had been shut down, the department could not legally initiate proceedings in Rao's name.

The High Court agreed. It said that although section 93 permits recovery of dues from a dead person, it permits recovery either from the business if it is continued by legal heirs or, where the business is discontinued, from the estate of the deceased. The provision, however, does not allow show cause notices or assessment orders to be issued in the name of a deceased person.

Setting aside the assessment order, the court said the correct course for the authorities was to issue notice to the legal heirs and involve them in the assessment process.

It allowed the department to carry out a fresh assessment after doing so, while making it clear that any recovery must be limited to the estate of the deceased and cannot extend to the petitioner's personal assets.

Case Detail: Baratam Satish, Late Kameswara Rao Baratam (Now Deceased) vs. The Joint Commissioner of Central Tax

Citation: 2026 LLBiz HC (APH) 8

Date of Order: 24.12.2025

For Petitioner: Advocate C Sanjeeva Rao

For Respondent: Advocate Y N Vivekananda

Click here to read the order.