GST assessment orders without signature or DIN were held invalid, and the proceedings were set aside.

Assessment orders under the GST Act were found unsustainable where they lacked the assessing officer's signature and did not mention a DIN. The Court treated the missing signature as a substantive defect not curable under Sections 160 and 169 of the CGST Act, and held that non-generation or non-mention of DIN also validity in light of binding precedent and the CBIC circular governing DIN in GST communications. The impugned orders were set aside, with liberty to issue fresh notice and pass duly signed orders.

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Issues: Whether assessment orders issued under the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 are valid when they do not bear the assessing officer's signature and do not contain a DIN number.

Analysis: The absence of signature on the assessment order was treated as a substantive defect which could not be cured by Sections 160 and 169 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The non-mention of a DIN number was also regarded as affecting the validity of the proceedings, in the light of the binding precedents and the CBIC circular governing DIN generation and mention in GST communications.

Conclusion: The impugned assessment orders were held to be unsustainable and were set aside, with liberty to the authority to pass fresh orders after issuing notice and duly signing the orders.

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