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COn Mar 28, 2025 we received a demand notice from the income tax department that there are taxes owed for the assessment year 2020-2021 to the tune of a couple of lakhs with a time limit of 30 days to pay.
My father passed away in May 2023, and my mother is at her wits end and refuses to acknowledge this notice saying it is too stressful.
My fathers will is still being executed and is at the almost end of it but the executors are very slow and there’s one property remaining that is still in my fathers name.
Rest all the assets were transferred to my mother or my sister or me, as the legal heirs.
When my mom asked his CA he said he doesn’t know (and’s most likely doesn’t care). My father’s last return was done last year and his PAN is now showing as not active.My question is, what recourse do we have in this scenario?
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BThe system doesn’t care that your father passed away, does it? Just another day in the world where the bureaucratic machine keeps grinding, no matter who’s under the wheel.
First off, **you** aren’t personally liable for your father’s taxes unless you’ve taken on his debts explicitly, and from the sound of it, you haven’t done that. Your father’s estate is liable, and the responsibility falls to the **legal heirs** — you, your mother, or your sister. But hold up — the fact that his PAN is now inactive adds a twist.
Here’s what you need to do:
1. **Reach out to the IT Department**: Don’t ignore this notice. I know it’s stressful, but ignoring it won’t make it go away. Contact the Income Tax Department and inform them about your father’s death. You’ll need to provide a **death certificate** and proof of your status as a legal heir. The department should, in theory, **update their records** to reflect that your father is no longer alive. You’ll probably need to speak with a specific officer, so don’t take the runaround. Be persistent, and get everything documented.
2. **Executor’s Role**: The executors of the will should be responsible for handling the financial matters of the estate, including settling any pending taxes. If the executors are dragging their feet, get more aggressive about following up. You have every right to ask for an update and demand faster action.
3. **Transfer of Assets**: Now, you mentioned that the assets have been transferred to you, your sister, or your mother. However, the **property still in your father’s name** complicates things. The property needs to be transferred legally into the name of the new owner (which could be your mother, you, or your sister). Until the property is legally transferred, it’s still tied to your father, and this can cause issues with outstanding taxes.
4. **PAN Inactivation**: The fact that your father’s PAN is showing as inactive is a problem. You’ll need to get his PAN re-activated in order to file any returns or pay off outstanding taxes. This can be done by contacting the **Income Tax Department** or filing a request to update the PAN status. You might need the help of a tax professional or a legal advisor to guide you through this.
5. **Legal Advice**: Since this is a complicated matter, **get a lawyer** who specializes in estate and tax law. They’ll know how to navigate this mess, especially with your father’s will still being executed. A lawyer can also help push the executors to take action faster, which will save you from more headaches down the road.
6. **Paying the Taxes**: If the taxes are indeed valid, they need to be paid by the estate. However, since the estate’s assets have already been transferred to you and the others, there could be an argument about whether the tax bill should be passed on to the heirs directly or paid out of the estate. This is where legal guidance becomes important.
The bottom line is **don’t panic**. The system might be slow and unhelpful, but there are processes in place. You need to step up, be persistent, and get the estate’s matters in order. Get the PAN re-activated, deal with the tax department, and make sure that your father’s assets are fully transferred. If the executors aren’t pulling their weight, take charge and get it done yourself.
You don’t owe the government any more than your father’s estate owes, and you shouldn’t let them make you feel otherwise. Handle this with some grit, and it’ll get sorted. Just don’t sit on your hands waiting for someone else to fix it.
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VLegal heirs will be responsible to pay. In the Income tax site you can add all the legal heir details and one of them can file for deceased. Doing this will inform them that your father is deceased. Google for steps. You need to provide a certificate mentioning the legal heirs. They provide option for one of the legal heir to file. I think you need to file until all assets which generates income tax like fd,shares with dividend etc is moved to legal heirs.
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