TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (9) TMI 455
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....se Writ petitions are identical. 2. In all these cases petitioners, who are registered under the GST regime, have approached this Court challenging assessment orders passed against them. The main ground for challenge, in all these cases, is the lack of a Document Identification Number on the orders, passed by the assessing officers. 3. Under the GST Act, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, has been given power to issue guidelines and directions to the tax authorities, for the purposes of better compliance with the provisions of the Act and the Rules made under the acts. 4. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, in exercise of this power under Section 168(1) of the CGST Act, 2017, had issued a Circular bearing....
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....se cases, including the judgment of this Court in Cluster Enterprises vs. The Deputy Assistant Commissioner 2024 (88) G.S.T.L page 179(A.P)., had held that the absence of the Document Identification Number would invalidate the order of assessment. Following these judgments, this Court has consistently been setting aside any assessment order which does not contain a Document Identification Number and is remanding the same back to the assessing authority for passing appropriate orders in accordance with law. The petitioners, in this batch of Writ Petitions, also challenge the assessment orders passed without including a Document Identification Number. The details of the Writ Petitions and the dates on which the impugned assessment orders have....
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....through post or mail, the petitioner could not verify the portal in the orders section or additional orders section. No DIN 6. As can be seen from the said table above, the orders under challenge have been passed quite some time back and there is significant delay in challenging these orders. The affidavits filed in support of these Writ Petitions have also sought to explain the delay. The reasons given for the delay, in approaching this Court, are also set out in the table above. 7. This Court has heard the learned counsel appearing for the petitioners in the present batch of cases as well as the learned Government Pleader and the learned Standing Counsel appearing for the Central Taxation Authorities. 8. The learned counsel fo....
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....ch an order is necessary, it would be essential that the petitioners, seeking such orders, approach this Court expeditiously. Failure to approach this Court within a reasonable period of time would amount to laches and this Court would have the discretion to refuse relief on the ground of laches. 10. The instructions issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs are instructions issued under Section 168 of the CGST Act. Section 168 of the CGST Act reads as follows: Section 168. Power to issue instructions or directions. (1) The Board may, if it considers it necessary or expedient so to do for the purpose of uniformity in the implementation of this Act, issue such orders, instructions or directions to the cen....
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....rt. Once such a declaration is required from this Court, it would also be necessary for this Court to consider the question of laches in approaching this Court. 13. In all the Writ Petitions, before this Court, the reasons set out for the delay in approaching this Court is either the alleged inability of the petitioners in perusing the orders which have uploaded in the portal or that there is no limitation for the exercise of appellate jurisdiction, under Section 107, as service of orders without a Document Identification Number, would not amount to service and by analogy, there would be no limitation or reasonable period within which one has to approach this Court. 14. Both these reasons cannot be accepted by this Court. The contenti....