Unsigned GST assessment orders are invalid; saving and service provisions do not cure the defect, and a fresh signed assessment may be made.

An assessment order under the GST regime is invalid if it is not signed by the assessing officer; the signature is treated as an essential element of a valid order. Sections 160 and 169 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 do not cure the defect of an unsigned assessment order. The unsigned Form VAT-203 assessment order was therefore quashed, while the authority was left free to make a fresh assessment after notice and by issuing a duly signed order.

---

---

Issues: Whether an assessment order under the Goods and Services Tax regime is invalid when it does not bear the signature of the assessing officer, and whether such defect can be cured by the saving and service provisions.

Analysis: The impugned assessment order in Form VAT-203 was admittedly unsigned. The Court followed its earlier Division Bench decisions holding that the signature of the assessing officer is an essential requirement of a valid assessment order and that Sections 160 and 169 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 do not cure the defect of an unsigned order. On that basis, the impugned order could not be sustained.

Conclusion: The unsigned assessment order was held invalid and was set aside.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition succeeded to the extent of quashing the impugned assessment order, while leaving it open to the authority to make a fresh assessment after notice and by duly signing the order.

Ratio Decidendi: An assessment order is not valid if it is not signed by the assessing officer, and the defect is not cured by the saving or service provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.

---