The HC dismissed the writ petitions and declined to interfere...

The HC dismissed the writ petitions and declined to interfere with the impugned assessment orders; the court held that s.168 CGST merely empowers issuance of binding instructions to tax authorities and mere violation of such instructions renders orders invalidable but not void ab initio, thus remaining operative until set aside by a competent forum. The absence of a Document Identification Number on orders uploaded to the portal does not ipso facto vitiate service in the absence of a statutory prescription; CBIC circulars are administrative instructions and cannot confer nullity. Petitioners' unexplained delay invoked laches and precluded relief, so the assessment orders continue to operate unless and until quashed by appropriate adjudication.