Facts of the Case

M/s Al-Habeebi Constructions challenged a show cause notice in Form GST DRC-01 dated 21.05.2024 and the final adjudication order in Form GST DRC-07 dated 27.08.2024, passed under Section 73 of the GST Act for the tax period September 2019 to March 2020, before the Telangana High Court, contending that these communications were a nullity for want of signature. The petitioner claimed it only learnt of the liability upon receipt of a garnishee notice in Form GST DRC-13 dated 05.02.2026 attaching its bank account, and separately sought a declaration that the limitation for filing a statutory appeal would not commence until a properly signed copy of the order was served.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether an unsigned GST adjudication order and the recovery proceedings based on it are non-est and unenforceable.
  2. Whether limitation for filing a statutory appeal should be tolled until a signed copy of the order is served on the assessee.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The show cause notice and the final order were a nullity, non-est in law, and unenforceable for want of any signature on them; consequently, the limitation to file a statutory appeal under Section 107 should not commence until a signed copy of the DRC-07 order is served.
  • The petitioner sought interim suspension of the garnishee/bank-attachment notice dated 05.02.2026 pending disposal of the writ petition.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The Senior Standing Counsel for CBIC submitted that the impugned order was in fact digitally signed, making the unsigned-order plea unsustainable, and that the petitioner had always been at liberty to prefer a statutory appeal raising all available grounds before the appellate authority.

Court Order / Findings

  • After hearing arguments, learned counsel for the petitioner himself sought liberty to prefer an appeal against the impugned order, acknowledging some delay might have occurred, rather than press the unsigned-order plea to a decision.
  • Since the petitioner opted to seek liberty to appeal, the Court declined to comment on the merits of either side's contentions, and granted liberty to file an appeal within two weeks along with the statutory pre-deposit and a delay-condonation application, directing the appellate authority to consider the delay sympathetically and decide on merits; no coercive steps were to be taken pursuant to the garnishee notice during those two weeks.

Important Clarification

  • Where a department confirms that an adjudication order is digitally signed, an assessee's unsigned-order challenge is unlikely to succeed on its own; courts commonly leave such a contention open for the appellate authority rather than adjudicating it at the writ stage once the assessee elects to pursue an appeal.
  • A garnishee/bank-attachment notice under Form GST DRC-13 is frequently the trigger that brings a stale adjudication order to an assessee's attention, prompting a delay-condonation request rather than a merits challenge.

Sections Involved

  • Section 73, CGST Act, 2017 – demand provision under which the original order was passed.
  • Section 107, CGST Act, 2017 – governs the statutory appeal and limitation, including delay condonation.
  • Section 79(1)(c), CGST Act, 2017 – recovery through garnishee proceedings (Form GST DRC-13), the trigger for this petition.
  • Rule 26(3), CGST Rules, 2017 – requires authentication of orders by signature or digital signature.

Decision – In Favour of

The writ petition was disposed of on the petitioner's own request for liberty to appeal, granting a temporary reprieve from coercive recovery and sympathetic delay-condonation consideration — a procedural accommodation rather than a decision on the unsigned-order merits.

Case Details

Court: High Court for the State of Telangana at Hyderabad. Case No.: Writ Petition No.15979 of 2026. Coram: Hon'ble the Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Hon'ble Justice G.M. Mohiuddin. Date of Order: 16th June, 2026.

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