Facts of the Case

M/S Gayatri Security Service, a Tirupathi-based proprietorship represented by Chitta Siva Sankar Reddy, was subjected to best-judgment assessments under Section 62 of the GST Act, 2017 by the Assistant Commissioner (ST), Tirupathi-LL Circle, for several tax periods spanning February 2023 to January 2025, on the ground of non-filing of returns, with cumulative tax demands running into several lakhs of rupees across three connected writ petitions (Nos. 2288, 2296 and 2297 of 2026). The petitioner subsequently filed the requisite returns along with tax, interest and late fee for the disclosed turnovers. It approached the Andhra Pradesh High Court at Amaravati contending that filing of returns within the statutory or extended period statutorily deems the assessment orders withdrawn, also challenging the orders for lacking signature and DIN. The matter was decided on 28 January 2026.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether best-judgment assessment orders passed under Section 62 of the GST Act, 2017 stand automatically withdrawn once the registered person files the pending returns along with tax, interest and late fee.
  2. Whether such withdrawal follows even where the return is filed after the assessment order but within the statutory or extended period.
  3. Whether the absence of officer signature or DIN independently vitiates such orders.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The Best-Judgment Assessment Orders under Section 62, along with the DRC-07 summaries, for multiple tax periods were arbitrary and passed without following principles of natural justice.
  • The orders were passed without the signature of the concerned officer, physically or digitally, and without generating a Document Identification Number as mandated by CBIC Circular No. 128/47/2019-GST and the Supreme Court's direction in W.P. No. 320 of 2022, rendering them void.
  • Since the petitioner had since filed the pending returns together with tax, interest and late fee for the relevant turnovers, Section 62(2) deems the assessment orders withdrawn automatically, relying on Brothers Engineering and Errectors Limited v. State of A.P.

Respondent's Arguments

  • Learned Government Pleader for the Commercial Taxes Department did not dispute the facts set out in the petitioner's supporting affidavit, including that the requisite returns, tax, interest and late fee had been furnished for the assessed periods.
  • No independent defence was pressed to sustain the assessment orders once compliance with the deeming provision was demonstrated.

Court Order / Findings

  • The Court applied its earlier ruling in Brothers Engineering and Errectors Limited v. State of A.P. that any order under Section 62 stands withdrawn once the registered person files the necessary returns along with payment of tax, interest and late fee within the statutory or extended period.
  • Since the conditions of Section 62(2) of the GST Act, 2017 were shown to have been complied with, all the impugned best-judgment assessment orders across the three connected writ petitions are deemed to have been withdrawn.
  • The petitions were allowed accordingly, declaring the listed assessment orders — covering periods from February 2023 to January 2025 — withdrawn, with no order as to costs, and pending miscellaneous applications closed.

Important Clarification

  • Section 62(2) operates as a statutory, self-executing deeming provision: once a registered person furnishes the pending return with tax, interest and late fee within the permitted period, the best-judgment assessment automatically stands withdrawn — no separate departmental order of withdrawal is required.
  • This automatic withdrawal applies even where the return is filed after the Section 62 order but within the statutory or extended time, and can cover multiple tax periods and connected writ petitions raised together.

Sections Involved

  • Section 62, GST Act, 2017 — best-judgment assessment for non-filers of returns, and its automatic withdrawal on subsequent filing of returns with tax, interest and late fee.
  • Form GST ASMT-13 / DRC-07 — the assessment order and summary of demand issued under Section 62.

Decision – In Favour of

Assessee (petitioner) — all three writ petitions allowed and the assessment orders declared withdrawn.

Case Details

Court: High Court of Andhra Pradesh at Amaravati. Case Nos.: W.P.Nos. 2288, 2296 and 2297 of 2026 (lead matter W.P.No.2288/2026, CNR APHC010701712025). Coram: Hon'ble Sri Justice R. Raghunandan Rao and Hon'ble Sri Justice T.C.D. Sekhar. Date of Decision: 28 January 2026.

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