Unsigned GST assessment orders are invalid; portal upload did not cure the defect, and remand followed on conditional writ relief.

An assessment order in FORM GST DRC-07 without the assessing officer's signature was treated as a patent defect and held invalid; the curative provisions on mistake or service could not validate it. Service by uploading the order on the GST portal was considered in the GST context, and the writ challenge was entertained despite delay on a conditional basis. The petition was allowed subject to deposit of 20% of the disputed tax, the assessment was set aside, and the matter was remanded for fresh adjudication after hearing the taxpayer, with limitation excluded for the intervening period.

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Issues: (i) Whether an assessment order issued in FORM GST DRC-07 without the assessing officer's signature is valid and can be sustained. (ii) Whether service of the order by uploading it on the GST portal is sufficient, and whether the writ petition could be entertained despite delay, subject to a deposit condition.

Issue (i): Whether an assessment order issued in FORM GST DRC-07 without the assessing officer's signature is valid and can be sustained.

Analysis: The absence of signature on the assessment order was treated as a patent defect. The decision followed earlier Division Bench rulings holding that a signature on the assessment order is not dispensable and that the curative provisions regarding mistakes or service cannot validate such a defect.

Conclusion: The assessment order was held invalid and liable to be set aside.

Issue (ii): Whether service of the order by uploading it on the GST portal is sufficient, and whether the writ petition could be entertained despite delay, subject to a deposit condition.

Analysis: Portal upload was considered in the context of service under the GST regime, but the Court balanced the practical difficulties faced by registered persons with the need to preserve revenue administration. The Court also took note of the hardship caused by online administration and the need to permit delayed writ petitions in appropriate cases, on a conditional basis.

Conclusion: The writ petition was entertained, the delay was effectively not treated as fatal, and the challenge was allowed subject to deposit of 20% of the disputed tax, with remand to the Assessing Officer for fresh adjudication after hearing the petitioner.

Final Conclusion: The impugned assessment was set aside for want of signature and the matter was remanded for fresh decision after hearing, with the petitioner required to make the stipulated tax deposit and with limitation excluded for the intervening period.

Ratio Decidendi: An assessment order under the GST regime that suffers from the foundational defect of absence of the assessing officer's signature is invalid, and such a defect is not cured by the statutory provisions governing mistake or modes of service.

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