High Court Quashes GST Proceeding for Non-Mention of DIN: Orders Fresh Assessment

The petitioner, M/s. Medikonda Constructions Pvt Ltd. received an assessment order in Form GST DRC-07, dated 16.03.2021, issued by the GST department for the financial years 2017-18 and 2018-19. This order was challenged by the petitioner in court. One major reason for the challenge was that the order did not contain a DIN number.

A DIN (Document Identification Number), a unique number that must be mandatorily included in all official GST communications sent by the tax officials to the registered taxpayers.

Andhra Pradesh High Court Decision

The court cited the judgement in the case of Pradeep Goyal Vs. Union of India & Ors1, where the Hon’ble Supreme Court, after observing that the order did not have a DIN Number, held that such an order would be invalid. The Court referred to previous judgements which also concluded that the non-mention of a DIN number would require the order to be set aside.

Therefore, the High Court set aside the GST order dated 16.03.2021. However, the court gave the GST officer permission to issue a fresh order, with proper notice and a valid DIN number. The time between the old order and the receipt of this order will be excluded for the purpose of limitation.