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Who Is An Assessee?

Updated on: 24 May, 2024 11:47 AM

In Simple words, we can say that Assessee is a person who is liable to pay any tax or any sum of amount payable or have any obligation to pay tax as per the Section 2(7) of the Income Tax Act,1961.

Also, an assessee can be termed as each and every person for whom

  • Any proceedings have been taken under the act for the assessment of his income
  • Fringe benefits,
  • The income of any other person for whom he is considered accessible
  • Any loss sustained by him or by such other person or
  • A person is entitled to any tax refund.

The income of Mr. Rohan is Rs. 2,50,000 for the assessment year 2018-19. He does not file his return of income for the year as he is coming under the exempted slab. Here the Income Tax Department can not take any action against him. So he is not an assessee as no tax or any other sum is due from him for the given Assessment Year.
In the same case if he files his return of income to claim a refund of tax deducted on interest paid to him. Then B is considered as an assessee.


Types of Assessee

  1. Individual
  2. Hindu Undivided Family
  3. Partnership Firm
  4. Company
  5. Association of Persons(AOP) or Body of Individuals(BOI)
  6. Local Authority
  7. Artificial Judicial Body(not covered under any of the above-mentioned categories)

Classification of Assessee

As per the Income Tax Act, the assessee has been classified into different categories. For better understanding, we have given a description of the same-

  1. Normal AssesseeAn individual is considered to be a normal assessee when he is liable to pay tax for the income that is earned by him or the loss incurred by him in a Financial Year. Any person who is liable to pay any interest or penalty to the government or entitled to get any refund under the act is considered normal assessee.

    Representative AssesseeA person who is not only liable to pay taxes for his income or loss but for the income or loss of other persons also. As the name suggests, under this category assessee acts as a representative for the persons who may be able to pay their taxes due to some reasons. Examples of representative assessee are Guardian of Minors and Agent of NRIs.

    Deemed AssesseeIndividuals who are covered under deemed assessee are-

    • Executors or legal heirs of the property will be treated as deemed assessee, where a deceased person dies after writing his will to the legal heirs and executors.
    • Where a person dies without writing his or her will. In this case, his eldest son or if there is any other legal heir will be considered deemed assessee.
    • Guardians of Minors, lunatics, or an idiot whose income is taxable as per the Income Tax Act, covered under deemed assessee.
    • Any person who is acting as the agent of NRI having taxable income in India.

    Assessee in DefaultA person is said to be an assessee in default if he fails to comply with the duties imposed or fails to fulfill the statutory obligation under the Income Tax Act.
    For example- A person paying interest to another person is responsible for deducting TDS at source on this amount and depositing the tax with the government. If he did not follow any of these duties, he shall be deemed to be an assessee in default. Same way as per section 218, if a person does not pay advance tax(in case coming under that), then in this case, he shall be considered an assessee in default.


Difference between Person & Assessee

Person Includes

  • An Individual
  • HUF
  • A company
  • Firm
  • Association of Persons or Body of Individuals
  • A Local Authority
  • Every artificial judicial person does not come under any of the above-mentioned clauses.

Every artificial judicial person does not come under any of the above-mentioned clauses.

There is an individual Mr. Ram, who has earned a total income of Rs. 1,60,000 in the previous year. He is a person and not an assessee as his total income is less than the exemption limit of Rs. 2,50,000 and no tax or any other sum of money is due to him.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q- What is the meaning of Assessee in Tamil?

In Tamil assessee is known as
தீர்வைசெலுத்துநர்(Tīrvaiceluttunar)


Q- How do we say Assessee in Telugu?

In Telugu, Assessee is known as మదింపు(Madimpu).


Q- How to say Assessee in Marathi?

Marathi people use the word निर्धारिती(Nirdhāritī) to use the term assessee.


Q- What is the meaning of Assessee in Hindi?

Everyone uses the term आकलन( Aaklan) in Hindi to say assessee.


Q- Everyone uses the term आकलन( Aaklan) in Hindi to say assessee.

Every person who is deemed to be an assessee in default under any provisions of the act, i.e., if a person does not deduct tax at source or after deducting fails to pay such tax to the government, is deemed to be an assessee in default.


Q- What do you mean by a representative assessee?

A representative assessee is considered deemed to be an assessee by virtue of section 160(2). These assessees are liable to pay taxes not for income earned by themselves but for other persons also. Example- Agents of NRI or Guardian of Minors etc.


Q- Who is an assessee in default?

An assessee will be in default if they don't pay the full amount demanded by the Income Tax Department under Section 156 within 30 days of receiving the notice.


CA Abhishek Soni
CA Abhishek Soni

Abhishek Soni is a Chartered Accountant by profession & entrepreneur by passion. He is the co-founder & CEO of Tax2Win.in. Tax2win is amongst the top 25 emerging startups of Asia and authorized ERI by the Income Tax Department. In the past, he worked in EY and comes with wide industry experience from telecom, retail to manufacturing to entertainment where he has handled various national and international assignments.