Assessment order in Form GST DRC-07 invalid without assessing officer's signature; fresh assessment allowed with proper notice

The HC set aside the assessment order issued in Form GST DRC-07 due to the absence of the assessing officer's signature, following precedent that such omission renders the order invalid. The court allowed the tax authority to conduct a fresh assessment after issuing proper notice and ensuring the order bears the assessing officer's signature. The period between the original order and the receipt of this judgment is excluded from limitation calculations.

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Writ petition challenging Form GST DRC-07 assessment order dated 23.01.2025 (period 2018'19 to 2023'24) was allowed and the assessment set aside for want of the assessing officer's signature. The Court relied on earlier Division Bench precedents holding that "the signature, on the assessment order, cannot be dispensed with and that the provisions of Sections'160 & 169 of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017, would not rectify such a defect." Following those authorities, the Court observed that the "absence of the signature of the assessing officer, on the assessment order, would render the assessment order invalid" and therefore quashed the impugned DRC'07. Liberty was granted to the tax authority to conduct a fresh assessment "after giving notice and by assigning a signature to the said order." The period from issuance of the impugned order until receipt of this order is excluded for limitation. No order as to costs; pending miscellaneous applications closed.

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