Q.Define 'Assessee' under the Income Tax Act, 1961. Is every 'Person' under Section 2(31) automatically an 'Assessee'? Explain with reasons.

'Person' and 'Assessee' are related but not identical ideas under the Act.

Under Section 2(7), an Assessee is a person by whom income tax (or any other sum) is payable under the Act, or a person in respect of whom any proceeding has been taken for the assessment of income, a loss, or a refund, or who is deemed to be an assessee, or an assessee-in-default. Under Section 2(31), a Person is defined broadly to include an individual, a Hindu Undivided Family, a company, a firm, an association of persons/body of individuals, a local authority, and every other artificial juridical person. Every Assessee necessarily satisfies the definition of Person, since only a Person can be made liable to tax or proceeded against — but the reverse does not hold. A Person with no taxable income and against whom no proceeding has ever been taken (say, a person whose income …

A common slip is treating 'Person' and 'Assessee' as synonyms and using them interchangeably in an answer — the examiner is specifically testing whether …