Arikatia Venkateswarlu Vs Assistant Commissioner St and Others (Andhra Pradesh High Court)
Andhra Pradesh High Court, in Arikatia Venkateswarlu Vs. Assistant Commissioner ST & Others, quashed an unsigned GST assessment order issued in Form GST DRC-07 on November 30, 2023. The petitioner challenged the order on multiple grounds, including the lack of an assessing officer’s signature, which raised concerns regarding its validity. The Court acknowledged this procedural lapse and ruled that the unsigned document could not be considered a legally binding assessment order under the GST Act.
The Government Pleader for Commercial Tax conceded that the order indeed lacked the required signature. The Court referred to its previous rulings, including V. Bhanoji Row Vs. The Assistant Commissioner (ST) (W.P. No. 2830 of 2023) and M/s. SRK Enterprises Vs. Assistant Commissioner (W.P. No. 29397 of 2023), which held that an unsigned assessment order is invalid and cannot be rectified under Sections 160 and 169 of the CGST Act, 2017. These precedents established that the absence of a signature is a fundamental flaw that renders the order unenforceable.
Further reinforcing this position, the Court cited M/s. SRS Traders Vs. The Assistant Commissioner ST & Ors. (W.P. No. 5238 of 2024), where another Division Bench held that an unsigned assessment order is legally untenable. Given these consistent rulings, the Court found that the present case was no different and ruled that the assessment order must be set aside due to this procedural defect.
