Section 329

Section 329: joint and several liability of partners for a firm's tax

Section 329 makes the partners of a firm personally responsible, alongside the firm itself, for the firm's tax dues for a given tax year. It is a short but important provision that widens who the tax department can recover a firm's tax liability from.

This explanation is AI-assisted and pending review by our CA/CS team. It is general information, not professional advice - always cross-check against the bare law text above or talk to our tax team for guidance specific to your situation.

What Section 329 says

"Every person who was, during the tax year, a partner of a firm, and the legal representative of any such person who is deceased, shall be jointly and severally liable along with the firm for the amount of tax, penalty or other sum payable by the firm for the tax year, and all the provisions of this Act, so far as may be, shall apply to the assessment of such tax or imposition or levy of such penalty or other sum."

Who this covers

Two categories of people become jointly and severally liable, along with the firm itself, for the firm's tax, penalty or other sum for the tax year:

Every person who was a partner of the firm during that tax year
The legal representative of any such partner who has since died

What "jointly and severally liable" means in practice

The tax department is not limited to recovering the firm's dues only from the firm's own assets - it can pursue any partner (or a deceased partner's legal representative) individually for the full amount, and all the provisions of the Act apply, so far as may be, to the assessment of that tax and to the imposition or levy of any penalty or other sum.

Frequently asked questions

Can the tax department recover a firm's tax dues from an individual partner?

Yes. Section 329 makes every person who was a partner of the firm during the relevant tax year jointly and severally liable, along with the firm, for the firm's tax, penalty or other sum for that year.