Murali Krishna Enterprises Vs Assistant Commissioner Of State Tax and Others (Andhra Pradesh High Court)
Andhra Pradesh High Court has quashed an assessment order issued under the Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017, against Murali Krishna Enterprises. The order, dated August 4, 2023, for the period April 2018 to March 2019, was challenged on the grounds that it lacked both the signature of the assessing officer and a Document Identification Number (DIN). The court’s decision, which remands the case for a fresh assessment, follows a series of judicial precedents emphasizing the mandatory nature of these requirements for the validity of such orders.
Murali Krishna Enterprises, the petitioner, received the assessment order in Form GST DRC-07. The firm subsequently challenged the order, highlighting the absence of the assessing officer’s signature and the DIN, a numerical identifier for all communications from tax authorities. The petitioner also stated that their account had been attached for the recovery of the alleged outstanding amount.
During the proceedings, the learned Government Pleader for Commercial Tax conceded that the impugned assessment order indeed lacked both the signature of the assessing officer and the DIN. This admission became a crucial point in the court’s deliberations.
The High Court’s ruling drew heavily on previous judgments that have addressed similar deficiencies in tax assessment orders. The absence of a signature on an assessment order has been a recurring issue before the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
