Question 1 (b)
Person and assessee distinguished
6 marks
- Time to write
- About 12 minutes
- Notes
- Crux notes
Question
Question 1 (b) · 6 marksWhat is meant by "Person" under section 2(31) of the Income Tax Act, 1961? In what way does the term "person" differ from the term "assessee"? (6)
Paper note: Set under the Income-tax Act, 1961 for assessment year 2024-25 (previous year 2023-24); answered under the Income-tax Act, 2025 for tax year 2026-27, so the year term moves forward by 3 years and every date in the question moves forward by the same 3 years, so that intervals, holding periods and ages are as printed. Every figure and name is as printed. The question names section 2(31) of the Income-tax Act, 1961; the answer gives the corresponding definitions of the Income-tax Act, 2025 and says so.
Reworded from the university paper; the task is the same. The original paper belongs to the University of Delhi. See DU's question bank.
Before you write
Read off the question and its marks
Read from the question
- What is meant…?What…?Two asks in one question: answer both.
- differ fromSet the differences out in a table, basis by basis, not as two separate essays.
- section 2(31)The section is named: open with what it says, then explain or apply it.
Write it in this order
- Read; underline the asks; jot your points 1 min
- 1 Meaning of person, with the seven classes 2½ marks 4 min
- 2 Meaning of assessee, with the deemed and default assessees 2 marks 3 min
- 3 Differences and conclusion 1½ marks 3 min
- Check: every ask answered, key terms underlined 1 min
Easy marks
- Steps 1 and 2 opens with the meaning: a one-line definition, the quickest mark in each.
Short on time? Trim steps 1–3 evenly rather than skip one: each is capped at its own marks.
Try it first. About 12 minutes for 6 marks. Write it out, then open the solution.
Solution
Hover or tap a marked figure, like 72,000, to see how it is made and where else it appears.
Meaning of person (section 2(77) of the Income-tax Act, 2025; formerly section 2(31))
Income-tax is charged on the total income of every person. The definition is inclusive and names seven classes:
- an individual (a natural human being, including a minor or a person of unsound mind);
- a Hindu undivided family;
- a company;
- a firm (including a limited liability partnership);
- an association of persons, or a body of individuals, incorporated or not;
- a local authority (such as a municipality or a panchayat); and
- every artificial juridical person not covered above (for example, a university or a deity, recognised by law as able to hold property and be sued).
An association of persons, a body of individuals, a local authority or an artificial juridical person is a person whether or not it was formed to earn income, profits or gains.
Meaning of assessee (section 2(11) of the 2025 Act; formerly section 2(7))
An assessee is a person by whom any tax or other sum of money is payable under the Act, and includes:
- every person in respect of whom any proceeding under the Act has been taken to assess his own income, his loss or a refund due to him, or the income, loss or refund of another person for which he is assessable;
- every person deemed to be an assessee under the Act (for example, the legal heir of a deceased person, or the agent of a non-resident); and
- every person deemed to be an assessee in default (for example, an employer who fails to deduct or deposit tax at source).
| Basis | Person | Assessee |
|---|---|---|
| Nature | Describes who can be charged to tax: the seven classes | Describes a person in his relation to the tax: one who owes tax or is the subject of proceedings |
| Scope | Wider: every person is a potential taxpayer | Narrower: a person from whom tax or another sum is due, or against whom proceedings are taken, and a person the Act deems an assessee or an assessee in default (section 2(11)(b), (c)) |
| Need for income or liability | Not needed: a person with no income is still a person | Needed for the main meaning (a tax, a sum payable or a proceeding), except where the Act itself deems a person an assessee or an assessee in default |
| Includes others' liabilities | No | Yes: a person assessable for another's income (a guardian, an agent, a legal heir) is an assessee |
| Example | A student with no taxable income is a person | The same student becomes an assessee once a refund claim or an assessment proceeding is made in his name |
Every assessee is a person, but not every person is an assessee. Person marks out who may be taxed; assessee marks out a person once tax, a sum payable or a proceeding attaches to him, including for someone else's income.
Where the 6 marks sit
| # | Component | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meaning of person, with the seven classes | 2.5 |
| 2 | Meaning of assessee, with the deemed and default assessees | 2 |
| 3 | Differences and conclusion | 1.5 |
| Total | 6 |
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