2026 (2) TMI 171 - HC - GST

Validity of electronic assessment orders affirmed; unexplained delay led to dismissal of writ petition for laches.

Validity of electronically issued assessment orders and digital authentication by Document Identification Number (DIN) was affirmed where the summary ... Validity of electronically issued assessment orders and digital signatures - Document Identification Number / RFN as proof of digital authentication - laches and delay in approaching the Court - HELD THAT:- It is not in dispute that the assessment order was passed in October, 2023 and the same was uploaded in the portal. Further, the summary of the order was uploaded on 26.12.2024. Admittedly, there is no explanation whatsoever was offered by the petitioner for the delay in approaching this Court in the affidavit filed in support of the writ petition. In the absence of any explanation, the writ petition is liable to be dismissed on the ground of laches. In the instant case the summary of the order contains Reference Number and therefore, by no stretch of imagination it can be said that the summary order does not contain Document Identification Number/Reference Number. Further, the said number would be exclusively assigned to a particular order. In view of the same, the contention raised by the petitioner that summary order does not contain DIN is liable to be rejected. Be that as it may, as observed, the petitioner despite having access to the portal, so as to view the orders passed against it, for the reasons best known it, did not approach this Court immediately after passing the orders under challenge. Further, there is no explanation was offered for the delay caused in preferring the present writ petition. None of the grounds raised in the writ petition are tenable and view from any angle, there are no merits in the present writ petition. Accordingly, the writ petition is dismissed. Issues: (i) Whether the assessment order dated 28.10.2023 and its summary in Form DRC-07 dated 26.12.2024 are invalid for want of signature and DIN/Document Identification Number; (ii) Whether the writ petition is maintainable despite delay and absence of explanation (laches).Issue (i): Whether the absence of a conventional handwritten signature or an explicitly printed DIN on the uploaded assessment order/summary renders the orders invalid.Analysis: Electronic issuance of show-cause notices and summary assessment orders generates authentication markers when digitally signed; such authentication produces a portal-generated reference (RFN) or equivalent identification. Demonstrations and record evidence show that the portal assigns a Reference Number upon affixture of the digital signature and that formats of printed signatures vary; procedural changes in the portal may affect printed DIN placement while still producing a unique portal-assigned reference.Conclusion: The challenge to validity based solely on absence of a conventional signature or an explicitly printed DIN is rejected. Presence of the portal-generated Reference Number/RFN establishes digital authentication and suffices for validity.Issue (ii): Whether the writ petition can be entertained notwithstanding the delay in filing and no explanation for delay.Analysis: The assessment order was passed and uploaded in October 2023 and the summary was uploaded in December 2024; no explanation for delay in approaching the court has been provided. Access to the portal for viewing orders existed notwithstanding cancellation of registration, and unexplained delay amounts to laches affecting discretionary relief by writ.Conclusion: The writ petition is dismissed on the ground of delay and laches; the substantive grounds raised are without merit.Final Conclusion: The writ petition challenging the assessment order and its summary is dismissed; no relief is granted to the petitioner and pending applications stand closed.Ratio Decidendi: A portal-generated Reference Number/RFN produced upon digital affixture of authentication suffices to validate electronically issued GST orders, and unexplained delay/laches bars discretionary writ relief against such validated tax orders.