GST cancellation notice invalid where it failed to identify the issuing authority, rendering the consequential cancellation order unsustainable.

A GST cancellation notice that was merely system generated and did not identify the issuing authority was held invalid because statutory power must be exercised by an officer, not by the system. A GSTN advisory on digitally signed notices did not cure the defect, as it could not replace the missing name or office of the authority. The consequential cancellation order, being founded on that defective notice, was also unsustainable and was quashed.

---

---

Issues: Whether a GST cancellation notice, shown as system generated and not bearing the name or office of the issuing authority, was valid in law and could support the consequential cancellation order.

Analysis: The notice did not identify the issuing authority in any manner and merely stated that it was system generated. The objection based on the GSTN advisory regarding digitally signed notices was not accepted, as that explanation could not cure the absence of the name or office of the authority who exercised the statutory power. Since the power to issue such notices vests in officers and not in the system, the notice was treated as lacking legal authority. The consequential cancellation order, founded on such notice, also could not be sustained.

Conclusion: The notice and the cancellation order were invalid and were quashed.

---