Sandhya Constructions Vs State of Andhra Pradesh (Andhra Pradesh High Court)
Andhra Pradesh High Court has set aside an unsigned GST assessment order issued to Sandhya Constructions for the period 2019-20 to 2020-21. The petitioner challenged the order, arguing that the absence of the assessing officer’s signature rendered it invalid. The state’s counsel confirmed that the order indeed lacked a signature. Citing previous rulings, including A.V. Bhanoji Row v. Assistant Commissioner (ST) and M/s. SRK Enterprises v. Assistant Commissioner, the court reiterated that an unsigned assessment order cannot be rectified under Sections 160 and 169 of the CGST Act, 2017, and is therefore invalid.
The court referenced multiple Division Bench rulings, including M/s. SRS Traders v. Assistant Commissioner (ST), reinforcing the principle that assessment orders must be duly signed. Consequently, the writ petition was allowed, and the assessment order was annulled. However, the authorities were granted the liberty to issue a fresh assessment order with proper notice and signature compliance. The limitation period will exclude the duration from the original assessment order to the receipt of the court’s decision. No costs were imposed.
FULL TEXT OF THE JUDGMENT/ORDER OF ANDHRA PRADESH HIGH COURT
The petitioner was served with an assessment order, in Form GST DRC-07, dated 29.04.2023, passed by the S'”* respondent, under the Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 [for short “the GST Act”], for the period 2019-20 to 2020-21. This order has been challenged by the petitioner in the present writ petition.
