Ananya Granites Vs Assistant Commissioner St and Others (Andhra Pradesh High Court)
The Andhra Pradesh High Court in Ananya Granites vs Assistant Commissioner (ST) & Others examined the validity of an assessment order issued under the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, for the period 2023–2024. The petitioner challenged the order dated 27 January 2025, passed in Form GST DRC-07, on the ground that it did not contain a Document Identification Number (DIN), as mandated by law and circulars issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).
The Government Pleader for Commercial Tax confirmed that the impugned order indeed lacked a DIN number. Referring to the Supreme Court’s decision in Pradeep Goyal vs Union of India & Others, the Court noted that any order issued without a DIN is considered non-est and invalid. The Bench also relied on previous Division Bench rulings in M/s. Cluster Enterprises vs Deputy Assistant Commissioner (ST)-2, Kadapa and Sai Manikanta Electrical Contractors vs Deputy Commissioner, Special Circle, Visakhapatnam, both of which held that the absence of a DIN number undermines the validity of such proceedings under the GST framework.
Following these precedents and the CBIC circular dated 23 December 2019 (No.128/47/2019-GST), the Court concluded that the absence of a DIN number rendered the order invalid. Consequently, the High Court set aside the assessment order dated 27 January 2025, granting liberty to the authorities to conduct fresh proceedings after issuing a proper notice and ensuring that a valid DIN number is assigned. The writ petition was accordingly disposed of without costs.
