Facts of the Case: Novelty Reddy and Reddy Motors Pvt Ltd was served with an unsigned Summary of Show Cause Notice in Form GST DRC-01 dated 27.11.2024 and a subsequent assessment order in Form GST DRC-07 dated 25.02.2025 (Order-in-Original No. 23/2024-25-GST) for the tax period April 2020 to March 2021, issued by the Assistant Commissioner (CT), Eluru CGST Division. The petitioner challenged both the notice and the order before the Andhra Pradesh High Court, principally on the ground that neither carried a valid signature or Document Identification Number, rendering the proceedings illegal and arbitrary.

Issues Involved:

  1. Whether a Show Cause Notice and assessment order issued under the GST Act without a DIN are valid.
  2. Whether such orders, being unsigned and lacking DIN, can be sustained despite the underlying tax demand.

Petitioner's Arguments:

  • The Summary of Show Cause Notice in Form GST DRC-01 and the assessment order in Form GST DRC-07 were both unsigned and did not bear any DIN, rendering the entire proceeding void and without jurisdiction.

Respondent's Arguments:

  • The learned Government Pleader for Commercial Tax, on instructions, conceded that there was no DIN number on the impugned orders.

Court Order / Findings:

  • Following the Supreme Court's ruling in Pradeep Goyal v. Union of India & Ors., which held that a GST order without a DIN is non-est and invalid, and the Andhra Pradesh High Court's own Division Bench decisions in M/s. Cluster Enterprises and Sai Manikanta Electrical Contractors, the Court held that non-mention of a DIN in the notice and orders required them to be set aside.
  • The Court accordingly set aside the summary Show Cause Notice dated 27.11.2024 and the assessment order dated 25.02.2025, granting liberty to the first respondent to conduct a fresh assessment after giving notice to the petitioner and assigning a valid DIN.
  • The period from the date of the impugned orders until receipt of the Court's order was excluded for purposes of limitation.

Important Clarification:

  • A GST Show Cause Notice or assessment order that lacks a Document Identification Number is invalid and liable to be set aside irrespective of its underlying merits, but the Department retains liberty to re-initiate proceedings with a properly generated DIN, with the intervening period excluded from limitation.

Sections Involved:

  • CBIC Circular No. 128/47/2019-GST — mandatory DIN requirement for GST communications.
  • Form GST DRC-01 and Form GST DRC-07 — summary Show Cause Notice and summary of order under the GST Act.

Decision – In Favour of: Assessee — orders quashed on the DIN ground, with liberty for fresh assessment.

Case Details: High Court of Andhra Pradesh at Amaravati; Writ Petition No. 15681 of 2025; CNR APHC010239662025; Coram: Hon'ble Sri Justice R. Raghunandan Rao and Hon'ble Smt Justice Sumathi Jagadam; Date of Order: 2nd July, 2025.

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