Transfer Pricing Order Invalidated for Missing Digital Signature, Deemed Illegal Due to Non-Compliance with Signing Rules.

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....The High Court quashed the Transfer Pricing Order (TPO) and consequent draft assessment order, holding them illegal and arbitrary. The TPO order was not digitally signed on the last date of limitation, i.e., 31.07.2021, or subsequently on 02.08.2021, despite confirmation from the respondent. It was physically/manually signed only on 12.08.2021 and furnished to the petitioner on 13.08.2021, well beyond the limitation period. The TPO order was also uploaded on the ITBA portal on 16.08.2021, after the limitation period. The mere generation of a DIN number did not cure the defects and omissions in the TPO order, which was barred by limitation. The Court held that digital/physical/manual signature on the TPO order is an essential and mandatory requirement, failing which it would be invalid and non-est in the eyes of law.....