TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (10) TMI 568
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...., 26641, 26643, 26659, 26759, 26822, 26887, 27122, 27165, 27204, 27214, 27232, 27249, 27304, 27317, 27323, 27349, 27360, 27678, 27683, 27736, 27770, 28065, 28304, 28513, 28618, 28644, 28761, 28775, 28801, 28846, 28906, 28954, 29146, 29313, 29504, 29507, 29688, 29692, 29696, 29908, 29926, 29932, 29935, 29951, 30090, 30104, 30158, 30166, 30184, 30222, 30247, 30382, 30481, 30571, 30843, 30846, 30847, 30928, 30935, 30948, 31032, 31383, 31406, 31408, 31410, 31419, 31428, 31432, 31504, 31880, 31904, 31909, 31911, 32387, 32498, 32535, 32660, 33099, 33147, 33495, 33749, 33768, 34129 and 34134 of 2025 Counsel for the Petitioners : Ms. Yammanuru Siri Reddy, Mr. A.V.A. Siva Kartikeya, Mr. M. Naga Deepak, Mr. Venkatram Reddy Mantur, Mr. Jai Kishan Solanki, Mr. Santosh Sagar Kapilvai, Mr. K.P. Amarnath Reddy, Mr. Dandu Suresh Babu, Mr. Gouraram Rajashekar Reddy, Mr. S.V. Pranav Ram, Mr. T. Pradyoth, Mr. S. Suri Babu, Mr. B. Krishna Reddy, Mr. E. Rakesh Reddy, Mr. Shaik Jeelani Basha, Mr. P. Srikanth Rao, Mr. Karan Talwar, Mr. Raja Shekar Rao Salvaji, Mr. P. Bharath Nandan, Mr. Dantu Srinivas, Mr. Ch. Samson Babu, Mr. P. Venkata Prasad, representing M/s. P.V. Prasad Associates, Mr. J. Dheeraj....
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....Aircon, M/s.Cisne for Arts and Entertainments LLP, M/s.Ahmed Traders, M/s.Pragati Road Carriers, Harini Ganti, M/s. Siva Sai Ganesh Enterprises, M/s.Satyanarayana Reddy Kandimalla, Krishna Clothings, M/s.Cisne for Arts and Entertainments LLP, Harini Ganti, R. Balarami Reddy and Co., M/s.Srinidhi Power Solutions, M/s. Maks FMS India Private Limited, Geetha Kirana General Stores, M/s. Raja Ram Agencies, Salapi Consultants Private Limited, M/s. Sri Venkateswara Gas Agency, Vasu Katakam, Terminus Kg Ventures Private Limited, Fortuna Identity Private Limited, M/s.Ragi & Ragi Enterprises, M/s.Export Cargo Packagings, Planet Sigma Embedded Systems Private Limited, M/s. Vinci Global Private Limited, M/s. Minttu Sarna, M/s. Sony Electronics, M/s.Swastik Agencies, Mohammed Tabrez Uddin, M/s.RK Traders, M/s.Austrazen Bio Pharmaceuticals Private Limited, M/s. UHC Lifesciences, M/s.Sikhwal Metal, Smt. Suneetha Pantham, M/s. Laxmi Ganapathi Enterprises, M/s.Sikhwal Metal, M/s.Anucon Engineering Projects Private Limited, M/s. Inter City Transport Company, M/s. Inter City Transport Company, M/s. Soni Transport Solutions, M/s.A K Traders, Highbrow Production Services Pvt Ltd, M/s. Gupta Enterprises....
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.... M/s.Bhavana Earth Movers, M/s.Raj Industries, M/s.RTS Group of Construction, M/s.Invilogic Software Private Limited, M/s.Syndy Pharma, Raghuram Reddy Paduru, M/s.Jaireh Industries, M/s Swastik Enterprises, M/s.Rayalaseema Steels Re-Rolling Mills Private Limited, M/s.DRP-Gunaa Team Works, Chinna Raj Gajapathi @ M/s.CR.Gajapathi, Nihar Constructions, M/s.Venkataramana Lorry Transport and Transport Contractor, M/s.Technochem Engineering Corporation, M/s.Sree Techno Packages Versus Assistant Commissioner (ST), The State of Telangana, Department of Revenue (CT), Deputy Commissioner (ST), STU-2, The State Tax Office, Warangal, Telangana and others. And The Deputy Commissioner of State Tax, The State of Telangana, rep. by its Principal Secretary, The Deputy Commissioner (ST)-IV, State of Telangana, Rep. by its Secretary, Commercial Tax Department, Appellate Joint Commissioner (ST), The Deputy State Tax Officer, O/o The Joint Commissioner (ST), The State of Telangana, rep. by its Principal Secretary, Commercial Taxes, The Appellate Joint Commissioner of State Tax, Hyderabad and 3 others. And The State of Telangana, Department of Revenue (CT), The Assistant Commissioner (ST), The Appellate....
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.... These writ petitions have been referred to the Full Bench by order dated 12.06.2026 passed by the learned Division Bench of this Court for an authoritative pronouncement in view of the decision in Bigleap Technologies and Solutions Private Limited vs. State of Telangana [[2025] 142 GSTR 608 (Telangana)] on the issue of unsigned orders/show cause notices. In view of the fact that involves a substantial and novel question of law and also statutory interpretation that has far reaching systemic consequences, it requires to be heard by a larger forum. 2. The issue which needs to be answered is whether the impugned documents such as show cause notices or adjudication orders are unsigned documents within the meaning of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (for brevity, 'CGST Act')/Telangana Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (for brevity, 'TGST Act')/Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (for brevity, 'IGST Act') read with the Information Technology Act, 2000 (for brevity, the IT Act), and as such, are nullity in the eye of law. 3. Learned counsel for the parties have made extensive arguments during the proceedings on this reference. They have also referred to the pro....
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....esident, Architecture, GSTN, has made live demonstration to explain the working of the GST system and the manner and procedure by which the notices/orders under Chapter XVIII - demands and recovery of the CGST Rules are electronically authenticated and uploaded on the common portal. Sri Rajeev J.Tripathi, Vice President, Legal, GSTN also appeared in virtual mode. 9. The submissions made by learned counsel for both parties are being referred to hereinafter. Submissions of the learned counsel for the petitioners: A. The impugned show cause notice and assessment order being unsigned are non est in law and thereby liable to be set aside: 10. Sri Karan Talwar, learned counsel for the petitioner in W.P.No.20653 of 2025, has led the arguments on behalf of the petitioners in this reference. He has questioned the reference made to the Full Bench by the order dated 12.06.2026 passed by the Division Bench of this Court. It has been submitted that the referral order does not show reasons for making this reference to the Full Bench. It does not specifically point to any divergent opinion of Coordinate Benches necessitating a reference to the Full Bench. Secondly, in view of the judg....
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....al using officer login credentials embedded with digital signatures. The petitioners submit that this argument has also been rejected in M/s. Bigleap Technologies (supra). That the GSTN Advisory itself recognizes digital signature affixation as an additional mandatory requirement. - Mere login through a DSC-enabled portal does not amount to legal authentication. No statutory provision, notification, or Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) has been produced to establish that embedded login credentials are equivalent to affixing a digital signature on the actual document. - The petitioners rely upon Sections 3, 3A and 5 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and Rules 4 and 5 of the Information Technology (Certifying Authorities) Rules, 2000 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Certifying Authorities Rules') to contend that a valid digital signature must be affixed to the electronic record itself so that its authenticity and integrity can be independently verified. - Even by using methods prescribed under Second Schedule, authentication by means of digital signature shall comply with Rules 3 to 12 of the Digital Signature (End Entity) Rules, 2015, (hereinafter r....
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....ntinued issuance of unsigned notices/orders even after the judgment dated 14.03.2024 in M/s. Silver Oak Villas LLP (supra) amounts to violation of judicial discipline and deliberate disregard of binding precedent. - The contention that authenticity can be verified through RFN is also challenged on the ground that RFN has no statutory recognition as a mode of authentication and does not disclose the officer's identity, designation or time of signing. - The petitioners distinguish the Delhi High Court judgment in M/s. Swarn Cosmetics (India) vs. Union of India and Others [WP (C) No.16532 of 2025, CM Appl.67713/2025 & CM Appl.67714/2025, dated 1.10.2025] by contending that it did not consider the binding provisions of the Information Technology Act or earlier High Court judgments dealing with unsigned notices/orders. - That the impugned notices and orders are liable to be set aside. It is submitted that there is no loss or prejudice to the Revenue since they are given liberty to carry out the assessment once again in issuing the show cause notice and orders. - In view of the judgments of the Supreme Court in M/s. M.M. Rubber and Company Limited ....
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.... exact amount of tax, interest and penalty payable. It is submitted that DRC-07 forms the basis for creation of liability in the Electronic Liability Ledger under Section 49(7). It is only after a demand is reflected in the Electronic Liability Ledger that the payments made can be appropriated towards demand raised. Further, all appeals filed on the GST portal require mentioning of the DRC-07 reference number. Appropriation of pre-deposit towards appeals can also be done only once the DRC-07 is properly generated. He relied on Rule 142(5) to show the necessity of DRC-07 in the context of creation and payment of liabilities as also filing of appeals. - That 31st Agenda of the GST Council, dated 22.12.2018, describes how DRC-07 is issued for interest liability. Relevant paragraph is extracted as under: 12. Amendment to sub-rule (5) of Rule 142 12.1 While self-assessed tax is posted in the Liability Register on filing of return, interest liability which has not been declared in the return or paid by the registered person is not posted to the ledger. Whereas, subsection (12) of Section 75 of the CGST Act provides for recovery of interest due on the unpaid sel....
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....(2), it provides that the date of uploading would be deemed to be the date of service. - As the notices/orders uploaded online would be online communications, they would constitute "electronic record(s)" and in this regard Section 13(2) of the IT Act would be relevant. - That determination of the time of receipt of an electronic record is important. Sub-section (2) lays down the condition for the time of receipt of an electronic record for (a) a designated computer resource and (b) a non-designated computer resource. - Clause (a) of the aforesaid sub-section (2) states a situation where the addressee has already designated a computer resource for the purpose of receiving electronic records, the receipt occurs at the time when the electronic record enters the designated computer resource. When the originator sends the electronic record to a non-designated computer resource, receipt occurs at the time when the electronic record is retrieved by the addressee. It presumes that the originator has a prior knowledge of the addressee's designated computer system. - The respondents (State GST) rely on the Single Bench decision in Poomika Infra Developers ....
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....] is not a bar to the relied prayed for: - That the impugned notices/orders were only uploaded on the GST Portal. No other mode of service was adopted. In some cases, the petitioners having come to know about the uploading from other sources have approached this Hon'ble Court directly. In some other cases, the petitioners have approached the appellate authority first, who has rejected the first appeal on the ground of delay and have thereafter approached this Hon'ble Court. However, the petitioners challenged the impugned show cause notices/orders since they are unsigned and non est vitiating the entire proceedings as without jurisdiction. The principle of merger does not apply since the first appellate order is not on merits and was never admitted and rejected merely on the ground of delay. Thus, the delay can be condoned. In any event, a writ of certiorari can be issued against the impugned notices/orders even if the appellate remedy were not exercised, where there is violation of principles of natural justice or the order is without jurisdiction. - That a notice has been straightaway issued without first following the procedure under Section 61 of the CGST Act ....
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.... not required. However, the circular could operate prospectively. Therefore, the orders issued prior to that ought to have reflected the DIN without which it cannot be relied upon. 14. Learned counsel Sri P.Venkat Prasad appearing for the petitioner in W.P.No.22326 of 2025 and other connected cases, submitted a brief note by referring to the counter affidavit earlier filed by the Commissioner of Central Taxes and Customs, Central Excise & Service Tax, Medchal GST Commissionerate, Hyderabad in W.P.No.21072 of 2024, and the latter counter affidavit filed by the Deputy Commissioner of Central Taxes and Customs, Central Excise & Service Tax, Medchal GST Commissionerate, Hyderabad in W.P.No.10295 of 2025. He submits that the averments advanced by the GSTN in its counter affidavit are manifestly inconsistent with the earlier statements made in the prior counter affidavit. Such contradictory pleadings materially impair the credibility of the respondents' case and render the GSTN's present contentions inherently unreliable. It does not lie on the part of the Revenue to take a contrary stand in the present batch of cases against the judgment rendered in Bigleap Technologies (supra) on th....
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....ication of mind simply upon the forwarding of the e-mail by the Commercial Taxes Commissioner and Joint Commissioner and further to the Assistant Commissioner of the format prepared by the Indian Institute of Technology - Madras. However, this assertion is not borne from the record. 17. Learned counsel Ms. Y. Siri Reddy, learned counsel for the petitioners in W.P.No.20397 of 2025 and other connected cases, has taken a plea that the show cause notice was not properly served, as it was uploaded on the additional notices tab. She relied upon a decision in M/s.Ramanattu Motor Corporation vs. State of Kerala [2025 (2) TMI 1091 - Kerala High Court : (2025) 28 Centax 232 (Ker)] where such order uploaded in the additional notices tab was set aside and the matter was remanded. According to the learned counsel, all these matters relate to mostly the tax period 2017-18 to 2020-21 and are related to small time taxpayers who do not have the proper device or support of a qualified Chartered Accountant to carry out the compliances required under the GST regime insofar as the filing of returns or even in adjudication proceedings are concerned. 18. Learned counsel Sri Goondla Venkateswarlu ap....
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....litating registration, payment of tax, furnishing of returns etc., and for carrying out such other functions and for such purposes as may be prescribed. - He has also referred to the definition of 'document' in Section 2(41), the 'proper officer' under Section 2(91) and such other definition clauses. - That in none of the pleadings, the petitioners have made any allegation that the proper officer has not issued the show cause notices/orders. Therefore, in the absence of pleadings, such a plea should not be entertained in the eye of law. For example, in W.P.No.20397 of 2025, the name and designation of the proper officer is reflected both in the show cause notice issued under Section 73 and also in the order-in-original. He submits that the petitioners have not shown any prejudice on this count as all the show cause notices/orders referred to the RFN or reference number and name and designation of the officers. All these documents have been downloaded from the common portal. - The contention of some of the writ petitioners on non-application of mind by issuing multiple notices/orders and uploading on the same day is a ground which can be taken in an appeal....
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....t, Mr. Sumit K. Batra, ld. Counsel for the Department has handed over a short note, explaining the process followed by the proper officers while issuing any order or show cause notice. The said process, as explained on behalf of the Department is as follows: i. All orders and notices issued by tax authorities are uploaded electronically to the common portal and authenticated using a Digital Key/Signature which contains the credentials of the proper officer including his name, designation and jurisdiction. ii. As per the mandate of Rule 26(3) of the CGST Rules, 2017, all notices, certificates, and orders are to be issued electronically. Such service of notices, certificates and orders is made available to the taxpayer by uploading the same on the GST portal. iii. A proper officer can log in to the GST portal by using his/her Digital Key/Signature followed by a system generated OTP which is sent by the GST portal to the registered mobile number of the proper officer. iv. It is only after such authentication that the proper officer permits the system to generate the document (e.g., Show Cause Notices in FORM GST DRC-01, Orders in FORM GST DRC-07) an....
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.... On the directions of this Court, a live demonstration of the working of the GST Network has been made by Sri Harsh Agarwal, Vice President, Architecture, GSTN. He has also referred to the stand of the GSTN contained in its additional counter affidavit filed on 25.02.2026 on the working of GST Network. Sri Harsh Agarwal during the course of the demonstration of the GST Network common portal submitted that the process of issuance of notices and orders by the proper officer is undertaken only after the proper officer gets onboarded on the system by using Digital Signature Certificate issued by the certifying authority. The use of Digital Signature Certificate ensures integrity and authenticity of the document by use of public and private key. It creates a hash function by the method of asymmetric cryptography which is tamper proof and immutable. The proper officer applies his digital signature using the hash value by his private key and thereby issues the show cause notices/orders in accordance with the provisions of Sections 3A and 13 of the Information Technology Act. He has also referred to Section 119 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, to submit that there is a presumption....
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....d under the statute. Therefore, a purposive construction has to be applied to the CGST Act in conjunction with the provisions of the Information Technology Act while dealing with this challenge. - He has referred to the decision in M/s. Sahithi Marketers vs. the Superintendent of Central Tax, Karimnagar (Urban) Range [W.P.No.4005 of 2025, dated 20.02.2025] wherein this court held that even if DRC-07 did not contain any signature, no prejudice is caused to the petitioner. Similar is the view rendered by the High Court of Andhra Pradesh at Amaravati in Sahiti Agencies vs. the Assistant Commissioner of Central Tax and Central Excise [W.P.No.14874 of 2025, dated 26.09.2025] and M/s. Pedda Masthan Enterprises vs. the Assistant Commissioner ST, Chittoor III Circle, Chittoor [W.P.No.1363 of 2026, dated 31.01.2026] He has also referred to the decision of the Gujarat High Court in Radhe Enterprise (supra) (paras 33 to 35) and M/s.Swarn Cosmetics (India) (supra) relied upon by the learned Advocate General. - Sections 4 and 5 of the Information Technology Act under Chapter III provide that if the information is authenticated by means of electronic signature affixed in such m....
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.... Division Bench of this Court has, after due deliberations and after hearing the parties at length, felt it necessary to refer the matter in view of the conflicting decisions cited before it by the Coordinate Benches of this Court for an authoritative pronouncements on the issue involved. - The present batch of cases are on the issue whether the show cause notices and orders in adjudication proceedings govern Chapter XVIII - Demands and Recovery of the CGST Rules and made available on the common portal operated by the GST Network by the proper officer after onboarding it by using Digital Signature Certificate can be treated as an unsigned document to declare them as null and void. It is submitted that in none of the earlier decisions rendered by this Court, GSTN was made a party, though its presence was necessary. The entire working of the GST regime is maintained and operated by the GSTN. He submits that none of the previous Benches had the benefit of demonstration of the working of the common portal by the GSTN authorities on the question of unsigned documents. He submits that the judgment in Bigleap Technologies (supra) has treated the advisory of GSTN as not having any....
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....ch Engineers (supra) with the stand of GSTN filed in the present proceedings. 23. Learned Senior Standing Counsel for CBIC also submitted a compilation containing the Forms which require a signature as compared to a digital signature. Reply submissions of learned counsel for the petitioners: 24. Learned counsel Sri P.Srikanth Rao appearing for the petitioner in W.P.No.20528 of 2025, in reply, has submitted that merely making available the documents on the common portal as per Section 169(1)(d) of the CGST Act does not amount to service through the common portal. Therefore, it should not amount to service upon the company as it was not required to constantly keep a watch on the portal. 25. Sri Karan Talwar, learned counsel for the petitioner in W.P.No.20653 of 2025 and connected cases, has drawn the attention of this Court to the Agenda for 15th GST Council Meeting, dated 03.06.2017, at paras 9.1 to 9.3 wherein the recommendation of GST council regarding common portal is made. He submits that the word "common" has been used, as the portal is common to all such tax regimes i.e., CGST, TGST and IGST, being operable through the portal. He has also referred to the Report of ....
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....he order, the PDF will not allow even to edit. This is the nature of the authentication, the Information Technology Act mandates. 27. Sri Shaik Jeelani Basha learned counsel appearing for the petitioner in W.P.No.20473 of 2025 and other connected cases has taken the plea of absence of DIN and also multiple orders having been issued for the same tax period. He submits that if certain acts are forbidden by law, it cannot be done indirectly. In support of his submission, he relies upon Noida Entrepreneurs Association vs. Noida [(2011) 6 SCC 508] (para 25). He has also rebutted the plea of delay and laches on the part of the petitioners on the ground that the documents are unsigned. 28. Sri A.V.A.Siva Kartikeya, learned counsel submits that the GSTAT office which has been constituted now is rejecting the registration of appeals on the ground that the orders are unsigned. The department does not give reasons as to why some orders are shown as signed and others are unsigned. 29. Sri V.Aneesh, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner in W.P.No.28906 of 2025 submits that the discrepancy in the procedure in relation to audit proceedings under Section 65 of the CGST Act before i....
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....nologies (supra). In Bigleap Technologies (supra), a Division Bench of this Court held that the contrary view taken on the issue of DRC-07 having no signature without considering Chapter XVIII - Demands and Recovery of the CGST Rules and the prescribed Form is per incuriam. 35. The learned Division Bench in Bigleap Technologies (supra) accepted the submission of the State that unsigned document will not be hit by Rule 26(3) of the CGST Rules, under Chapter III, which deals with Registration. 36. In the above backdrop, learned Division Bench, before which these judgments were cited, deemed it fit to refer the matter to the Full Bench for an authoritative pronouncement on the subject after recording that the matters were heard at length and reserved for orders. The referral order specifically indicates that there was due deliberation after the matters were heard at length. 37. The referral order refers to the decision of the learned Coordinate Bench of this Court in Bigleap Technologies (supra) which indicates that the Coordinate Division Benches have taken conflicting view on the issue of unsigned. Moreover, the previous Coordinate Division Benches of this Court did not hav....
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.... decision given by the earlier Division Bench. If it is inclined to take a different view, a request should be made to the Chief Justice to refer the same to a Full Bench. Even the purpose of saving time has not been served in the present case. The decision has merely generated these appeals which are filed in view of the conflicting views taken by two Division Benches. The State has also come in appeal before us. All the parties are agreed that the appropriate course would be to refer the matter to the Full Bench of the Patna High Court. All these appeals are, therefore, remanded to the High Court of Patna. The Chief Justice of that High Court may constitute a Full Bench for deciding all issues which were raised before the Division Bench in the impugned judgment. Although the departure from the earlier decisions of the Division Bench may not be on all issues raised before the Court, since the appeals are being remanded to the High Court, it is desirable that the Full Bench, in considering all these matters, deals with all the issues which were raised and considered by the Division Bench in the impugned judgment." Therefore, we are of the opinion that there is no infirmity in th....
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....and Reasons to the CGST Act, as under: (i) There is cascading of taxes as taxes levied by the Central Government are not available as set off against the taxes being levied by the State Governments; (ii) Certain taxes levied by the State Governments are not allowed as set off for payment of other taxes being levied by them; (iii) The variety of Value Added Tax Laws in the country with disparate tax rates and dissimilar tax practices divides the country into separate economic spheres; and (iv) The creation of tariff and non-tariff barriers such as octroi, entry tax, check posts etc., hinder the free flow of trade throughout the country. Besides that, the large number of taxes create high compliance cost for the taxpayers in the form of number of returns, payments etc. 42. Therefore, it proposed that the tax being levied by the Central Government or the State Governments on the supply of goods or services were to be converged into goods and services tax which is proposed to be a dual levy where the Central Government will levy and collect taxes in the form of central goods and services tax and the State Government will levy and collect tax in th....
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....ods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal by the Central Government for hearing appeals against the orders passed by the Appellate Authority or the Revisional Authority; (i) to make provision for penalties for contravention of the provisions of the proposed Legislation; (j) to provide for an anti-profiteering clause in order to ensure that business passes on the benefit of reduced tax incidence on goods or services or both to the consumers; and (k) to provide for elaborate transitional provisions for smooth transition of existing taxpayers to goods and services tax regime. 44. Similar other State legislations were enacted across the country by the State Legislatures. The Union Territories Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and the IGST were enacted by the Parliament. All these Acts were rolled out and brought into effect from 01.07.2017. It is, therefore, pertinent to understand the working of the GST regime by reading the relevant provisions of the CGST Act and the Information Technology Act in order to answer the legal issue involved in the present reference. 45. For convenience sake, the relevant provisions of the CGST Act as are in pari materia to t....
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....vered under subsection (1), on the person chargeable with tax. (4) The service of such statement shall be deemed to be service of notice on such person under sub-section (1), subject to the condition that the grounds relied upon for such tax periods other than those covered under sub-section (1) are the same as are mentioned in the earlier notice. (5) The person chargeable with tax may, before service of notice under sub-section (1) or, as the case may be, the statement under subsection (3), pay the amount of tax along with interest payable thereon under Section 50 on the basis of his own ascertainment of such tax or the tax as ascertained by the proper officer and inform the proper officer in writing of such payment. (6) The proper officer, on receipt of such information, shall not serve any notice under sub-section (1) or, as the case may be, the statement under sub-section (3), in respect of the tax so paid or any penalty payable under the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder. (7) Where the proper officer is of the opinion that the amount paid under sub-section (5) falls short of the amount actually payable, he shall proceed to issue the....
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....ty equivalent to the tax specified in the notice. (2) The proper officer shall issue the notice under sub-section (1) at least six months prior to the time limit specified in sub-section (10) for issuance of order. (3) Where a notice has been issued for any period under sub-section (1), the proper officer may serve a statement, containing the details of tax not paid or short paid or erroneously refunded or input tax credit wrongly availed or utilised for such periods other than those covered under subsection (1), on the person chargeable with tax. (4) The service of statement under sub-section (3) shall be deemed to be service of notice under sub-section (1) of Section 73, subject to the condition that the grounds relied upon in the said statement, except the ground of fraud, or any wilful-misstatement or suppression of facts to evade tax, for periods other than those covered under sub-section (1) are the same as are mentioned in the earlier notice. (5) The person chargeable with tax may, before service of notice under sub-section (1), pay the amount of tax along with interest payable under Section 50 and a penalty equivalent to fifteen per cent ....
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....person have been concluded under Section 73 or Section 74, the proceedings against all the persons liable to pay penalty under Sections 122 and 125 are deemed to be concluded. Section 146. Common Portal.-The Government may, on the recommendations of the Council, notify the Common Goods and Services Tax Electronic Portal for facilitating registration, payment of tax, furnishing of returns, computation and settlement of integrated tax, electronic way bill and for carrying out such other functions and for such purposes as may be prescribed. Section 160. Assessment proceedings, etc., not to be invalid on certain grounds.- (1) No assessment, re-assessment, adjudication, review, revision, appeal, rectification, notice, summons or other proceedings done, accepted, made, issued, initiated, or purported to have been done, accepted, made, issued, initiated in pursuance of any of the provisions of this Act shall be invalid or deemed to be invalid merely by reason of any mistake, defect or omission therein, if such assessment, reassessment, adjudication, review, revision, appeal, rectification, notice, summons or other proceedings are in substance and effect in conformity wit....
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....) When such decision, order, summons, notice or any communication is sent by registered post or speed post, it shall be deemed to have been received by the addressee at the expiry of the period normally taken by such post in transit unless the contrary is proved. Common Portal: 46. As per Section 146 of the CGST Act, the Government on the recommendation of the Council, has notified the Common Goods and Services Electronic Portal for facilitating registration, payment of tax, furnishing of returns, computation and settlement of integrated tax, electronic way bill and for carrying out such other functions and for such purposes as may be prescribed. 47. In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 146 of the CGST Act read with Section 20 of the IGST Act, the Central Government, vide Notification No.4/2017 - Central Tax, dated 19.06.2017, notified 'www.gst.gov.in' as the Common Goods and Services Tax Electronic Portal for facilitating registration, payment of tax, furnishing of returns, computation and settlement of integrated tax and electronic way bill. Subsequently, in supersession of the said notification, i.e., Notification No.4/2017 - Central Tax, dated 19.06.2017, the....
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....natives to paper-based methods of communication and storage of information, to facilitate electronic filing of documents with the Government agencies and further to amend the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and the Banker's Books Evidence Act, 1891 and the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. It was enacted in the background of the resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations dated 30.01.1997 which adopted the Model Law on Electronic Commerce adopted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). Therefore, it was considered necessary to give effect to the said resolution and to promote efficient delivery of Government services by means of reliable electronic records. With such a rapid growth in electronic commerce, it became imperative for governments to regulate online behaviour. The Information Technology Act was enacted to provide a comprehensive enactment to govern online commerce. The preamble of the Information Technology Act gives a glimpse of the objects for which it is enacted. (i) Legal recognition of e-commerce through functional equivalence; ....
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....nsation and Adjudication (Sections 43 to 47). Chapter X relates to Cyber Regulations Appellate Tribunal (Sections 48 to 64) and Chapter XI relates to Offences (Sections 65 to 78) and penal imprisonment for such contraventions. Chapter XII, introduced with effect from 27.10.2009 by the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008, substitutes old Section 79 and provides for exemption to Intermediaries from Liability in certain cases. Chapter XIIA provides for Examiner of Electronic Evidence (Section 79A) appointed by the Central Government for an expert opinion on electronic form evidence i.e., relating to information stored or transmitted in electronic form. Chapter XIII contains Miscellaneous Provisions (Sections 80 to 94). The four Schedules contain various amendments that are necessitated in other statutes. For the purpose of this reference, Second Schedule which makes amendments to the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 by introducing to admit the electronic records as evidence is relevant. 53. The Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008 made substantial changes to the earlier enactments. Section 2 of the Amendment Act has substituted the words "digital signature" for the words ....
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....re Certificate issued under Section 35 and includes Digital Signature Certificate; (x) "key pair", in an asymmetric crypto system, means a private key and its mathematically related public key, which are so related that the public key can verify a digital signature created by the private key; (y) "law" includes any Act of Parliament or of a State Legislature, Ordinances promulgated by the President or a Governor, as the case may be, Regulations made by the President under Article 240, Acts enacted as President's Act under sub-clause (a) of clause (1) of Article 357 of the Constitution and includes rules, regulations, bye-laws and orders issued or made thereunder; (zb) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (zc) "private key" means the key of a key pair used to create a digital signature; (zd) "public key" means the key of a key pair used to verify a digital signature and listed in the Digital Signature Certificate; (ze) "secure system" means computer hardware, software, and procedure that- (a) are reasonably secure from unauthorised access and misuse; (b) provide a reasonable level of relia....
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....ic signature or electronic authentication technique shall be considered reliable if- (a) the signature creation data or the authentication data are, within the context in which they are used, linked to the signatory or, as the case may be, the authenticator and to no other person; (b) the signature creation data or the authentication data were, at the time of signing, under the control of the signatory or, as the case may be, the authenticator and of no other person; (c) any alteration to the electronic signature made after affixing such signature is detectable; (d) any alteration to the information made after its authentication by electronic signature is detectable; and (e) it fulfils such other conditions which may be prescribed. (3) The Central Government may prescribe the procedure for the purpose of ascertaining whether electronic signature is that of the person by whom it is purported to have been affixed or authenticated. (4) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, add to or omit any electronic signature or electronic authentication technique and the procedure for affixing such signat....
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.... addressee; (b) if the addressee has not designated a computer resource along with specified timings, if any, receipt occurs when the electronic record enters the computer resources of the addressee. (3) Save as otherwise agreed to between the originator and the addressee, an electronic record is deemed to be despatched at the place where the originator has his place of business, and is deemed to be received at the place where the addressee has his place of business. (4) The provisions of sub-section (2) shall apply notwithstanding that the place where the computer resource is located may be different from the place where the electronic record is deemed to have been received under sub-section (3). (5) For the purposes of this section,- (a) if the originator or the addressee has more than one place of business, the principal place of business, shall be the place of business; (b) if the originator or the addressee does not have a place of business, his usual place of residence shall be deemed to be the place of business; (c) "usual place of residence", in relation to a body corporate, means the place where it is registere....
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....nt of any electronic system by a Certifying Authority either solely or jointly with other Certifying Authorities and regulation of such systems; (k) specifying the manner in which the Certifying Authorities shall conduct their dealings with the subscribers; (l) resolving any conflict of interests between the Certifying Authorities and the subscribers; (m) laying down the duties of the Certifying Authorities; (n) maintaining a data base containing the disclosure record of every Certifying Authority containing such particulars as may be specified by regulations, which shall be accessible to public. 30. Certifying Authority to follow certain procedures.-Every Certifying Authority shall,- (a) make use of hardware, software and procedures that are secure from intrusion and misuse; (b) provide a reasonable level of reliability in its services which are reasonably suited to the performance of intended functions; (c) adhere to security procedures to ensure that the secrecy and privacy of the electronic signatures are assured; (ca) be the repository of all Electronic Signature Certificates issued under this Act....
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....e the same effect as putting the required signature to acts or documents written. This Section which now reads as 'affixing electronic signature' has been amended where, all references to 'digital signatures' was substituted by 'electronic signatures'. 57. The term 'appropriate government' in Section 2(1)(e) also finds mention in Section 70, where the 'appropriate government may declare a computer, computer system or computer network to be a protected system.' 58. 'Asymmetric crypto system' in Section 2(1)(f) means 'a system of a secure key pair consisting of a private key for creating a digital signature and a public key to verify the digital signature.' 59. The 'Certifying Authority' as defined in Section 2(1)(g), is a body, either public or private, that seeks to fill the need for trusted third party services in electronic commerce by issuing electronic signature certificate that attest to some fact about the subject of the certificate. The certificate which is issued by the certifying authority is a computer based record as to the connection between the private key and the corresponding public key. Subscribers can then disseminate the certificates to third parties who ....
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....nd of these functions. The process of 'asymmetric cryptography' commences when the source, using a 'private key' encrypts the message and signature with a password and sends it to the recipient. The resulting encryption is the digital signature or hash result, which is unique to each document and thus, produces a new hash result or signature with each transmission. After receiving the document, the recipient runs a program and de-crypts the sender's document and signature by using the 'public key', which is publicly available online to the encrypting private key. The program then compares the private key with the public key to determine if the document sent has been altered since its original transmission. If unaltered, the two keys will match and the recipient can be reasonably confident that the subscriber actually executed the document. 64. Section 3(3) states that by the use of a public key the subscriber can verify the electronic record. Therefore, the message can be sent through standard channels by anyone who has the public key, but can only be read by the intended recipient, the holder of the private key. Section 3(4) states that the private key and the public key are un....
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.... of the message; and (c) the authorizing certificate. 67. The process for authentication is prescribed under Rule 5 of the Certifying Authority Rules. The first step in verifying a digital signature requires the recipient to apply to the received message, the same hash function used to create the original message's hash value. If the two hash values match identically, then message authentication is accomplished and the recipient is assured that the message has not been altered from its original form. The second step in verifying a digital signature requires the recipient of the message to determine whether the original message was digitally signed by the signer's private key. The recipient will know that the original message was signed by the signer's private key because the signer's public key, transmitted to the recipient along with the original message, will only verify a digital signature created by the signer's private key. Therefore, the digital signature is considered valid only if both the hash function and private key are verified by the recipient. 68. Certifying Authorities provide the information and surety that the person signing with the private key is w....
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....n 3A(1) prescribes two basic conditions to be fulfilled, for an electronic signature or electronic authentication technique at par with the authentication effected through a digital signature. The first of which contained under Section 3A(1)(a) is with respect to the reliability of the electronic signature. The specifics of the reliability to qualify as a valid electronic signature are further set out under Section 3A(2)(a) of the Act. The Section contains certain characteristics which should be present in such a technology. These characteristics are:- Firstly, that the signature to be produced should be unique and should be linked to the signatory; Secondly, there is a requirement of confidentiality, secrecy and sole control of the signatory over the signature; Thirdly, any changes to the electronic signature after such a signature is affixed should be detectable; Fourthly, after affixing such a signature to the data, if there are changes in the data, then such changes should be detectable; The fifth and the final requirement is a residuary clause which states that, it should fulfil such other conditions which may be prescribed. Up till....
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....unctional equivalence only to digital signatures. Section 5 now by recognizing electronic signatures in place of digital signatures make a marked difference in its approach by adopting technology neutrality. This is also accompanied by the explanation to the section which couches the term, "signed" and "signature", in a plenary context, including its grammatical and cognate variations. The prerequisites which must be satisfied for the application of the section are - (a) a law should require that information, matter or document shall be signed or bear the signature of a person; (b) an electronic signature is affixed in place of such signature; and (c) the electronic signature is affixed in a manner prescribed by the central government. Thus, if the Bureau decides to affix a digital signature to its order, the mere factum that the statute from which it derives its power does not expressly provide for affixing a digital will not impart, any defect to its order. 74. Section 6 relates to use of electronic records and electronic signatures in Government and its agencies. Section 6(2) provides for the appropriate government to frame rules for the prescription of (a) the manner and for....
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....ch the information is authenticated by means of digital signature shall comply with the manner and standards specified in Rules 3 to 12 of the Digital Signature (End entity) Rules, 2015 in so far as they relate to the creation, storage, and verification of Digital Signature. 2. e-authentication technique and procedure for creating and accessing subscriber's signature key facilitated by trusted third party Authentication of an electronic record by e-authentication technique which shall be done by- (a) the applicable use of e-authentication, hash and asymmetric crypto system techniques leading to issuance of Digital Signature Certificate by Certifying Authority, provided that Certifying Authority shall ensure the subscriber identity verification, secure storage of the keys by trusted third party and subscriber's sole authentication control to the signature key. (b) Identity verification of Digital Signature Certificate applicant shall be in accordance with the Identity Verification Guidelines issued by Controller from time-to-time. (c) The requirement to operate as trusted third party shall be specified under e-authentication guidelines issued by the Control....
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....or transforming data into a seemingly unintelligible form, and another key for verifying a Digital Signature or returning the electronic record to original form, the process termed as hash function shall be used in both creating and verifying a Digital Signature. Explanation.-Computer equipment and software utilizing two such keys are often termed as "asymmetric cryptography". 4. Creation of Digital Signature.-To sign an electronic record or any other item of information, the signer shall first apply the hash function in the signer's software; the hash function shall compute a hash result of standard length which is unique (for all practical purposes) to the electronic record; the signer's software transforming the hash result into a Digital Signature using signer's private key; the resulting Digital Signature shall be unique to both electronic record and private key used to create it; the Digital Signature and the digital signature certificate attached to its electronic record shall be stored or transmitted along with its electronic record. 5. Verification of Digital Signature.-The verification of a Digital Signature shall be accomplished by ....
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....gible forms; (b) use Public Key Cryptography, which employs an algorithm using two different but mathematical related keys; one key (called the private key) for creating a digital signature and another key (called the public key) for verifying a digital signature; (c) use an hash function for creating and verifying a digital signature which required to make digital signature generation and verification efficient. 4. Creation of digital signature.-(1) The signatory shall, while signing an electronic record or any other item of information, first apply an hash function in the signatory's hardware or software. (2) The hash function shall produce a hash result. (3) The signatory's hardware or software shall then transform the hash result into a digital signature using signatory's private key and signature algorithm. (4) The contextual information like date and time, shall be then made part of the digital signature. (5) The counter signatures or parallel signatures or both may also be applied to electronic record. (6) The following information may also be a part of signature,- (a) the signatory&....
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.... the each prior timestamp shall be verified. 6. Verification of Digital Signature Certificate.-(1) The self signed certificate generated by the Controller, which begins the trust chain for the public key infrastructure, shall be used to verify the authenticity of the public key certificate of the licensed Certifying Authorities. (2) The public key certificate of the licensed Certifying Authorities shall be used to verify the authenticity of the digital signature certificate issued to the subscribers. (3) The certificate revocation list maintained by the licensed Certifying Authorities shall be checked to confirm whether the certificate of the licensed Certifying Authorities is valid or whether it has been revoked under Section 38 the Act. (4) While verifying the validity of a digital signature the corresponding digital signature certificate shall chain up through the public key certificate of the issuing Certifying Authority to the self signed certificate of the Controller and if any of the certificates in the trust chain is not trusted the signature shall not be verified. (5) The Digital Signature Certificate shall be verified with resp....
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....iation or persons or authorised signatory thereof; (g) in the case of a trust, by the trustee or any trustee or authorised signatory thereof; or (h) in the case of any other person, by some person competent to act on his behalf, or by a person authorised in accordance with the provisions of section 48. (3) All notices, certificates and orders under the provisions of this Chapter shall be issued electronically by the proper officer or any other officer authorised to issue such notices or certificates or orders, through digital signature certificate or through e-signature as specified under the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000) or verified by any other mode of signature or verification as notified by the Board in this behalf. Chapter XVIII DEMANDS AND RECOVERY Rule 142. Notice and order for demand of amounts payable under the Act.- (1) The proper officer shall serve, along with the (a) notice issued under Section 52 or Section 73 or Section 74 or Section 74A or Section 76 or Section 122 or Section 123 or Section 124 or Section 125 or Section 127 or Section 129 or Section 130, a summary thereof electronic....
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....nd, the said person may file an application in FORM GST DRC-03A electronically on the common portal, and the amount so paid and intimated through FORM GST DRC-03 shall be credited in Electronic Liability Register in FORM GST PMT-01 against the debit entry created for the said demand, as if the said payment was made towards the said demand on the date of such intimation made through FORM GST DRC-03: Provided that where an order in FORM GST DRC-05 has been issued in terms of sub-rule (3) concluding the proceedings, in respect of the payment of an amount in FORM GST DRC-03, an application in FORM GST DRC-03A cannot be filed by the said person in respect of the said payment. (3) Where the person chargeable with tax makes payment of tax and interest under sub-section (8) of Section 73 or under clause (ii) of sub-section (8) of Section 74-A, as the case may be, or tax, interest and penalty under sub-section (8) of Section 74 or under clause (ii) of subsection (9) of Section 74-A, as the case may be, within the period specified therein, or where the person concerned makes payment of the amount referred to in sub-section (1) of Section 129 within seven days of the notice ....
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....ed on the common portal in FORM DRC-08A and Part II of Electronic Liability Register in FORM GST PMT-01 shall be updated accordingly. Rule 142-B. Intimation of certain amounts liable to be recovered under Section 79 of the Act.-(1) Where, in accordance with Section 75 read with Rule 88-C, or otherwise, any amount of tax or interest has become recoverable under Section 79 and the same has remained unpaid, the proper officer shall intimate, electronically on the common portal, the details of the said amount in FORM GST DRC-01D, directing the person in default to pay the said amount, along with applicable interest, or, as the case may the amount of interest, within seven days of the date of the said intimation and the said amount shall be posted in Part-II of Electronic Liability Register in FORM GST PMT-01. (2) The intimation referred to in sub-rule (1) shall be treated as the notice for recovery. (3) Where any amount of tax or interest specified in the intimation referred to in sub-rule (1) remains unpaid on the expiry of the period specified in the said intimation, the proper officer shall proceed to recover the amount that remains unpaid in accordance wi....
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....reful reading of Rule 142, which provides for notice and order for demand of amounts payable under the Act, shows a discernible conspicuous distinct method of issuance of notice in the prescribed form or summary thereof electronically uploaded on common portal. Rule 142(1)(a) states that the proper officer shall serve along with the notice issued under different Sections along with summary thereof electronically in Form GST DRC-01, and as per 1(b) the statement and a summary thereof in Form GST DRC-02 specifying the details of the amount payable. Rule 2B specifies that where an amount of tax, interest, penalty or any other amount payable by a person has been paid by the said person through an intimation in Form GST DRC-03 under sub-rule (2), instead of crediting the said amount in the electronic liability register in Form GST PMT-01 against the debit entry created for the said demand, the said person may file an application in Form GST DRC-03A electronically on the common portal, and the amount so paid and intimated through Form DRC-03 shall be credited in Electronic Liability Register in Form GST PMT-01 against the debit entry created for the said demand, as if the said payment wa....
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....levant forms. It is further discernible that the service of notice of a third person under Rule 145 in Form DRC 13 and other provisions, such as Rules 146 and 147 relating to recovery through execution of a decree etc., and recovery by sale of movable or immovable property do not speak of service of notice or issue of order electronically in the prescribed forms. Similar is the position under Rules 151, 152, 153, 155 and 156, Rule 158 refers to filing of an application for payment of tax and other amounts in instalments by a taxable person in Form GST DRC-20. 79. Reference has often been made to Rule 26 which occurs under Chapter III - Registration. The method of authentication under Rule 26(3) does refer to issuance of notices, certificates and orders under the provisions of this Chapter electronically by the proper officer or any other officer authorized through digital signature certificate or through e-signature as specified under the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000 or verified by any other mode of signature or verification as notified by the Board in this behalf. This rule also does not restrict the notice, certificate or order to be issued electronically....
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....ectronic verification code, on the common portal, either directly or through a Facilitation Centre notified by the Commissioner on or before 30th day of June, 2020 and shall furnish the statement in Form GST ITC-03 in accordance with the provisions of sub-rule (4) of Rule 44 up to the 31st day of July, 2020. 6. Validity of composition levy (3) (3) The registered person who intends to withdraw from the composition scheme shall, before the date of such withdrawal, file an application in Form GST CMP-04, duly signed or verified through electronic verification code, electronically on the common portal. 8. Application for registration (4) (4) Using the reference number generated under sub-rule (3), the applicant shall electronically submit an application in Part B of Form GST REG-01, duly signed or verified through electronic verification code, along with the documents specified in the said Form at the common portal, either directly or through a Facilitation Centre notified by the Commissioner. 10. Issue of registration certificate (4) and (5) (4) Every certificate of registration shall be duly signed....
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....tion, duly signed or verified through electronic verification code, in Form GST REG-10, at the common portal, either directly or through a Facilitation Centre notified by the Commissioner. 14-A Option for taxpayers having monthly output tax liability below threshold limit (5) (5) The registered person who intends to withdraw from the option availed under sub-rule (1), shall file an application, in FORM GST REG-32, duly signed or verified through electronic verification code on the common portal, either directly or through a Facilitation Centre notified by the Commissioner: xxx 17. Assignment of Unique Identity Number to certain special entities (1) (1) Every person required to be granted a Unique Identity Number in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (9) of Section 25 may submit an application electronically in Form GST REG-13, duly signed or verified through electronic verification code, in the manner specified in Rule 8 at the common portal, either directly or through a Facilitation Centre notified by the Commissioner. 19. Amendment of registration (1) (1) Where there is any change....
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.... 46. Tax invoice (q) and proviso (q) signature or digital signature of the supplier or his authorised representative; xxx Provided also that the signature or digital signature of the supplier or his authorised representative shall not be required in the case of issuance of an electronic invoice in accordance with the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000): 49. Bill of supply (h) and proviso (h) signature or digital signature of the supplier or his authorised representative: xxx Provided also that the signature or digital signature of the supplier or his authorised representative shall not be required in the case of issuance of an electronic bill of supply in accordance with the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000). 50. Receipt voucher (k) (k) signature or digital signature of the supplier or his authorised representative: xxx 51. Refund voucher (k) (k) signature or digital signature of the supplier or his authorised representative. 52. Payment voucher (j) (j) signature or digital signature o....
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.... 55. Transportation of goods without issue of invoice (1)(ix) (1) For the purposes of- xxx the consigner may issue a delivery challan, serially numbered not exceeding sixteen characters, in one or multiple series, in lieu of invoice at the time of removal of goods for transportation, containing the following details, namely- xxx (ix) signature. 56. Maintenance of accounts by registered persons (15) (15) The records under the provisions of this Chapter may be maintained in electronic Form and the record so maintained shall be authenticated by means of a digital signature. 83. Provisions relating to a goods and services tax practitioner (10)(b) (10) The goods and services tax practitioner shall- xxx (b) affix his digital signature on the statements prepared by him or electronically verify using his credentials. 106. Form and manner of appeal to the Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling (3)(b) (3) The appeal referred to in sub-rule (1) or sub-rule (2), the verification contained therein and all the relevant documents accompanying such appeal shall be signed,....
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....0, DRC-11, DRC-12, DRC-13, DRC-14, DRC-16, DRC-17, DRC-18, DRC-19, DRC-21, DRC-22, DRC-23, DRC-25, contain, at the bottom, the Signature, Name, Designation, whereas, Forms - GST DRC-01B, DRC-01C, DRC-03, DRC-03A, DRC-06, DRC-20 and DRC-22A contain Signature of Authorised Signatory. In GST DRC-15, at the bottom, it has 'Proper Officer/Specified Officer'. 83. The procedure prescribed under Chapter XVIII i.e., issuance of Notice or demand or summary thereof electronically on the common portal does not specifically require the digital signature to be inscribed on the document. 84. Whether, on this background in the statutory rules under Chapter XVIII, inscription of signature or digital signature as contained in the Forms have to be read as mandatory in the absence of which the notice or order would be invalid or nullity? 85. The operation of the GST regime through common portal as notified by the Government in terms of Section 146 for facilitating registration, payment of tax, furnishing of returns, computation and settlement of integrated tax, electronic way bill and for carrying out such other functions and for such purposes as may be prescribed and its functioning, is gove....
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.... meticulously observed, savours of archaic and outmoded jurisprudence'." 87. The forms being the subservient to legislation cannot override the statutory provision. They are intended to facilitate the implementation of legislation and cannot supplant legislation. The subservience of substance of a transaction to some rigidly prescribed form required to be meticulously observed, reflects an archaic and outmoded jurisprudence, as observed in Vasudev Ramchandra Shelat (supra). 88. This being the legal position, the requirement of inscription of signature in the prescribed forms cannot override or supplant the Rules, under which they are prescribed. 89. This, therefore, now takes us to the method and procedure employed by the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) through which the notices or orders or summary thereof under Chapter XVIII are served electronically through the common portal. 90. Be it indicated herein that GSTN is officially authorized to operate the common portal GST Network for effective functioning of the GST regime. Its presence is not only proper but also necessary to explain the functioning of the system as per the requirements of the IT Act. However, it....
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.... is in accordance with Section 3 of the IT Act. 2. It is submitted that the above DSC is stored and used through a hardware cryptographic token (commonly referred to as a USB "dongle"). The token is a secure cryptographic device that holds: (a) The certificate (including the public key and identity attributes) and; (b) The corresponding private key in protected storage. The USB dongle is protected by PIN known only to the holder of this USB dongle. It is important to mention that the private key is designed to be non-exportable from the token. The token is unlocked for signing operations by entering a PIN/Password known only to the DSC holder; without this PIN, the device will not perform signature operations. 3. It is further submitted that the DSC includes the below details required for verification by relying parties (GST System in this context): a. subscriber's identity attributes (Name & PAN) b. the subscriber's public key, c. certificate serial number, d. the issuing CA's identity, e. the validity period (Not Before/Not After), and f. the CA's digital si....
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....: (a) integrity-whether the signed content was altered after signing, and (b) authenticity-whether the signature corresponds to the private key paired with the public key in the certificate. A detailed illustration containing/explaining the aforesaid process is as under: IV. Registration of DSC 1. The officer is required to use a PAN based class-3 DSC to issue any notice/order in the GST System. For such purpose, the officer is first required to register a DSC that qualifies the below conditions: (a) Issued by one of the valid Certifying Authorities (CA) (b) Is based on the Name & PAN of the officer (c) Is of class-3 category (d) Is not revoked by the issuing authority at the time of registration 2. Accordingly, the officer is required to insert their DSC device (USB dongle) in their computer and enter PIN number known only to the DSC holder. 3. Post PIN validation the unique identity of the officer is validated with the credentials of the officer that is embedded in the USB Dongle. 4. The certificate is registered in the GST System against the officer's identity for futu....
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....icer issued by affixing their DSC, for consumption/readability of the taxpayer. A detailed illustration containing/explaining the aforesaid process is as under: It is noteworthy that the PDF is generated by the system by replicating the digital notices/orders issued by the officer/proper officer as per the procedure detailed above. The traceability of the officer's digital signature (DSC) is maintained by the GST System. Furthermore, the system prints officer's name, designation and jurisdiction automatically on the PDF based on the issuing officer details. Further, it is also important to note that a notices/order can only become available on the GST Portal if officer/proper officer issues the same by adhering to the above-mentioned process. In other words, the availability of the notice/order on the GST System can be treated as authentic under the GST Law/rules made thereunder. Hence, it is stated that while all notices/orders issued by the proper officers on the GST System are duly signed using DSC, the PDF is generated by the system for readability of taxpayers. A detailed illustration containing/explaining the aforesaid process is as under: ....
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....s defined under Section 2(1)(zc) as the key of a key pair used to create a digital signature and public key is defined in Section 2(1)(zd) as the key of a key pair used to verify a digital signature and listed in the digital signature certificate. Section 3(2) provides that the authentication of electronic record shall be effected by the use of asymmetric crypto system and hash function. The process of 'asymmetric cryptography' commences when the source using a 'private key' encrypts the message and signature with a password and sends it to the recipient. The resulting encryption is the digital signature or hash result, which is unique to each document and thus, produces a new hash result or signature with each transmission. 96. As per working of the GSTN, an officer onboards the GST system and is provided access to undertake statutory functions through a mandatory streamline and pre-defined validation procedure. After successful validation, the GST system creates a unique user ID for the officer which is a combination of first and last name of the officer and a 2-digit number. These credentials of the officer are validated against the third party government sources like CBDT be....
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....oth electronic record and private key used to create it. The digital signature shall be attached to its electronic record and stored or transmitted with its electronic record. This process shows that the first step in creating a digital signature is to create a mathematical summary of the document to be signed and known as 'hash function', which is an algorithm that creates an i.e. representation of the original message in the form of a standard length hash value. The hash value is much smaller than the original message, but is unique to that message. The next step in creating a digital signature requires the signer of the message, to transform the message's unique hash value and original electronic message into, an electronic value by using a private key. The resulting electronic value is unique to the signer, because it is created as a combination of the original message's unique hash value and the signer's unique private key. Thus, a digital signature can be summarized as the electronically signed hash value of the signer's message created by the signer's private key and electronically attached to the message. Once the message is electronically signed by the signer, it is transm....
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....ncludes the details required for verification by relying parties - (a) subscriber's identity attributes (Name & PAN), (b) the subscriber's public key, (c) certificate serial number, (d) the issuing Certifying Authority's identity, (e) the validity period and (f) the CA's digital signature over the certificate. 103. Every such digitally signed notice/order is created using the private key contained in the USB dongle and is verifiable using the public key contained in the signed record. The DSC is uniquely identifiable by its serial number and issuing Certifying Authority. Any signed transaction can therefore be traced to the specific certificate used. The verification process can demonstrate whether the signature corresponds to the certificate and whether that certificate was valid at the relevant time. The GST system allows a DSC to be used only if it has not been revoked at the time of signing by the officer. Each and every DSC is associated with a cryptographic key pair: a private key and a public key that are mathematically linked. The private key is held securely within the hardware token (USB dongle) and is intended to b....
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....thereunder. The manner and requirement for authentification and storage of keys shall be as issued by the Controller from time to time under e-authentification guidelines, so should be the security procedure for creating the subscriber's key pair. The manner under clause (g) at Sl.No.1, in which information is authenticated by means of digital signature should comply with the manner and standards specified in Rules 3 to 12 of the Digital Signature (End Entity) Rules, 2015 in so far as they relate to the creation, storage and verification of digital signature. It is, therefore, proper to refer to the relevant rules under the Digital Signature (End Entity) Rules, 2015. 106. Rule 3 provides for the manner of authentication of information by means of digital signature, which shall (a) be created and verified by cryptography which concerns with transforming electronic record into seemingly unintelligible forms; (b) use Public Key Cryptography, which employs an algorithm using two different but mathematical related keys; one key (called the private key) for creating a digital signature and another key (called the public key) for verifying a digital signature; (c) use an hash function ....
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....of the notice or order issued in the prescribed Forms under Chapter XVIII of the CGST Rules. The proper officer has to fulfil the conditions prescribed under Section 3A(1) of the IT Act for an electronic authentification technique to be at par with authentification effected through a digital signature. The proper officer onboards the GST system after validation of its authenticity by using the DSC and entering the PIN/password known only to the DSC holder. Thereafter only, the officer is allowed to discharge the statutory duty and issue notices/ orders. 110. During the course of the submissions and based upon certain clarification dated 21.03.2024, digital signature on the pdf document available at the recipient end was being introduced to ensure taxpayer confidence. However, because of software issues in the State Tax Department, it appears that it could not be effectively implemented. It appears the GSTN has been working on this aspect of attending to the taxpayer's grievance in order to increase taxpayer's confidence in the working of the system. As held hereinabove, mere absence of a physical signature or digital signature on the show cause notices or orders covered under Ch....
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....5 of the Certifying Authorities Rules is intended to apply in cases such communication is made on open platform through electronic means and not in a case of this secure platform, such as common portal by the GSTN for working of the GST system in terms of the provisions of the Act and the Rules framed thereunder. The common portal is a digital public infrastructure maintained by the GSTN following all the security protocols. It is not a business to business digital infrastructure. Therefore, the procedure for verification at the recipient end as contended by the petitioners is not required as only a registered taxpayer can access through its user id and password. 115. This electronic record is documentary evidence under Section 3 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 or BSA 2023. A presumption is attached to an electronic record or an electronic signature under Section 86 of the BSA, 2023 or Section 85B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. It provides that in any proceeding involving a secure electronic record, the Court shall presume unless contrary is proved that the secure electronic record has not been altered since the specific point of time to which the secure status relates. Simi....
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....he foregoing part of this judgment. 118. The petitioners have failed to rebut the presumption attached to the electronic record created in discharge of official function by any pleading or proof to that effect. The case of the petitioners based upon the contention that the PDF format does not contain the visible digital signature of the proper officer is untenable in law. These notices/orders are served upon the taxpayer by way of electronic authentication through the Common Portal. The admission of the State Tax Authorities in some cases that the notices/orders did not bear the digital signature may be on account of the ignorance of the working of the GST system. Wherever the legislature and the rule making authority have deemed it proper for issuance of any such document or order in any other form, the same has been duly prescribed under different Chapters. A tabular chart of the Rules under different chapters and the documents/notices/orders to be issued thereunder have been furnished hereinbefore which goes to show as to how the rule making authority has consciously provided for different modes of authentification under different Chapters of the Rules. Therefore, when Chapte....
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.... Procedure) Rules, 2004 provides for the mechanism by which electronic record shall be deemed to be a secure electronic record for the purposes of the Act if it has been authenticated by means of a secure digital signature. The manner and procedure for creation of the secure electronic record by use of a secure digital signature as shown by the GSTN through the live demonstration and the averments made in their counter affidavits appear to be in conformity with Security Procedure Rules, 2004. 120. The taxable person is given a unique login ID and password to enable them to have access to the portal. No person other than the taxable person, in whose name GST registration has been granted, can access the common portal. It is the exclusive platform for functioning of the GST regime operated by the GST Network notified by the Central Government on the recommendation of the GST Council. On service of Show Cause Notice/order: 121. The petitioners have not assailed the provisions of Section 169 of the CGST Act which provides for service of notice in certain circumstances. Section 169 provides for service of decision, order, summons, notice or other communication under the Act or ....
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....f a document available on common portal does not amount to tendering of the document is not the correction interpretation of the statutory regime for service of notice in terms of Section 169(1)(d) of the CGST Act read with the provisions of Section 13(2) of the IT Act. The Legislature has consciously used the word 'service under sub-section (1)(d) by making such notices/orders available on the common portal, which is distinct from the expression 'tendering' used in the same sub-section (1)(a) or sub-section (2). Once it has been held that the show cause notice or order has been electronically authenticated and uploaded on the common portal it cannot be treated as invalid or nullity in the eye of law. Such assessment, re-assessment or adjudication proceedings cannot be invalidated or deemed to be invalid by reason of the alleged defect or omission of the visible digital signature on the Forms prescribed. They, in substance, would be in conformity with the intent, purpose and requirement of CGST Act as provided under Section 160 of the CGST Act. Moreover, if such notice or communication has been acted upon by the person to whom it is issued or has not been called in question or the ....
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...., SMS and a notification on the GST common portal leave no room of doubt that not only does the mechanism ensure data integrity, tamper detection and content immutability by use of asymmetric cryptographic method by creation of hash value but also shows that the notices or orders could not be uploaded on the common portal by any unauthorized person other than the proper officer. There is a presumption of regularity of such official acts and creation of electronic records attached under the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023. These electronic records constitute legally admissible evidence in terms of Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act and Section 4 of the IT Act and enable independent verification of the authenticity and integrity of issuance of notices or orders by the proper officers. The petitioners have failed to rebut the presumption. Only in a case where a demonstrable abuse of the mechanism is made out by the aggrieved taxable person, can the regularity of such proceedings be questioned and examined by the court of law. Mere unsubstantiated allegation, therefore, could not displace the rebuttable presumption attached to such official acts.....
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....nce thereof, each case has to be decided on the test of 'prejudice' caused to the taxpayer on non-service of the intimation in Form GST DRC-01A. Therefore, the interpretation on the Rule 142(1A), before and after amendment, having been rendered by the learned Division Bench holding the field, the said contention does not require to be answered in the present reference. 125. The petitioners have additionally raised some other grounds in some of the writ petitions inter alia (i) that the impugned order does not quote the Document Identification Number (DIN) and as such, cannot be relied upon; and (ii) that the circulars dated 05.11.2019 and 23.12.2019 issued by CBIC requiring DIN on such documents were adopted by the Government of Telangana as per Circular dated 04.11.2019. The circulars are binding on the Revenue as per Section 168 of the CGST Act. It is also stated that CBIC has issued a circular on 09.06.2025, wherein it has been stated that wherever RFN is shown on the document available on the common portal, DIN is not required. The said circular operates prospectively. Therefore, the orders issued prior thereto ought to have reflected the DIN otherwise it cannot be relied up....
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....and summary of the Order-in-Original in Form GST DRC-07 should be served electronically on common portal / uploaded electronically on the common portal. 4. In light of the above, quoting DIN on such communications generated through the common portal of GST, which already bear RFN, results into two different electronically generated verifiable unique numbers namely RFN & DIN on the same communication, which renders quoting of DIN on such communication unnecessarily. 5. It is therefore clarified that for communications via common portal (in compliance with Section 169 of the CGST Act, 2017) having verifiable Reference Number (RFN), quoting of Document Identification Number (DIN) is not required and such communication bearing RFN is to be treated as a valid communication. 6. To the above extent, Circular No.122/41/2019-GST dated 05thNovember 2019 and 128/47/2019-GST dated 23.12.2019 issued by the Board, stands modified. Digitally signed by Dr. Abhishek Chandra Gupta Date: 09-06-2025 E mail - [email protected] To, All Pr. Chief Commissioners/Chief Commissioners, CGST Zones/ CGST & Customs Zones, All Principal D....
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.... the GSTN, but by their backend office., i.e. Automation of Central Excise and Service Tax (ACES). As such, the petitioners cannot draw any mileage by trying to point out a contradiction in the stand filed in the affidavit in Water Tech Engineers (supra) with the stand of GSTN filed in the present proceedings. In this regard, it is pertinent to note that in Water Tech Engineers (supra), the GSTN was not a party, whereas in the present batch of writ petitions, GSTN has been impleaded as a party by order of this Court. It has, for the first time, appeared in such proceedings before this Court and filed counter affidavit. Therefore, the contention of the petitioners cannot be accepted and used to deny the GSTN to take an informed stand on the working of the GST system on the issues involved in these cases. 131. The petitioners have also questioned the validity of invocation of jurisdiction under Section 73 of the CGST Act when proceedings under Section 61 had already been initiated and explanation had also been provided by the petitioners by relying upon the case of Goverdhandham Estate Private Limited (supra). Since this reference is on the question of unsigned document i.e., noti....
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..../s.Ramanattu Motor Corporation (supra) where such order uploaded in the Additional Notices tab was set aside and the matter was remanded. The respondent State has in its reply stated that the GST Portal has clarified it in the 16.01.2024 by appending a 'Note' under the heading 'Additional Notices' in the GST Portal, which is as under: "Note: 1. Following Notices/Orders issued by tax authorities are available under "Notices and Orders". * Notices/Orders/Intimations pertaining to registration including new registration, amendment, cancellation, revocation and other communications. * Notices issued by System to return defaulters in Form GSTR-3A. * Notices pertaining to Return module comprising GST DRC-01B and GST DRC-01C. * Summary of assessment orders issued in Form GST DRC-07 where notices and other proceedings were held offline. 2. Following Notices/Orders issued by tax authorities are available under "Additional Notices and Orders". * Notices/Orders pertaining modules Advance Ruling, Appeal, Assessment/Adjudication, Audit, Enforcement, Prosecution and Compounding, Recovery, LUT etc. 3. Notices/Orders ....
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....or the petitioners in matters where such show cause notices or orders were uploaded on the Additional Notices and Orders tab, prior to 16.01.2024, to raise it in an appropriate proceeding before the appellate forum/court of law. 139. This Court is of the view that when the GST Portal contains a Note which clearly indicates that following notices/orders issued by the tax authorities are available under 'Additional Notices or Orders' i.e., notices or orders pertaining modules of Advance Ruling, Appeal, Assessment/Adjudication, Audit, Enforcement, Prosecution and Compounding, Recovery, LUT etc, the plea that the show cause notice issued after 16.01.2024 was not properly served is not tenable in law. In terms of Section 169(1)(d) of the Act, service of notice or order is complete on making it available on the common portal. If the common portal itself indicates by way of a note that such notices/orders are available under the additional notices and orders tab, the taxpayer cannot feign ignorance of service of such notice or order through the common portal. 140. Sri G.Venkateswarlu appearing in W.P.No.22806 of 2025 has taken a plea that the Information Technology Act does not have....
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.... of Rule 26(3) between the two Division Benches in the aforesaid decisions. 144. In the case of M/s.Sahithi Marketers (supra), the same coordinate Division Bench which decided the Bigleap Technologies (supra) proceeded to hold that DRC-07 is only a summary of order and even if it does not contain any signature, it will not cause any prejudice to the petitioner. 145. In Bigleap Technologies (supra) decided on 28.02.2025, however had taken a view relying upon the decisions of Baru Ram (supra) and Anjum M.H.Ghaswala (supra) that if the law prescribes a thing to be done in a particular manner, the same must be done in the same manner and other methods are forbidden. Therefore, in order to translate Demands and recovery into reality, the Rules were introduced and the Rules are pregnant with statutory Forms for effectively exercising the power, which require a signature. 146. In batch of writ petitions led by Bigleap Technologies (supra), the petitioners had challenged the legality, validity and propriety to the show cause notices and final orders on the ground of being unsigned. The learned Division Bench of this Court recorded that although the impugned show cause notices and ....
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....asis that the statutory forms prescribed under the CGST Act and the CGST Rules and Section 3 of the IT Act make it obligatory for the proper officer to put his signature. However, this view is not correct as every such document i.e., notice or order under Chapter XVIII of the CGST Rules are electronically authenticated as per the requirement of Sections 3, 3A and 5 of the IT Act explained in detail in the earlier part of this judgment. Therefore, absence of digital signature on the Forms would not render them invalid. Section 5 of the IT Act provides for legal recognition of electronic signatures and further explains that the terms 'signed' and 'signature' would with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions 'shall' be construed accordingly. 148. The learned Advocate General and the learned Additional Solicitor General of India, both have relied upon the recent decision of the Gujarat High Court judgments in M/s.Vishwa Enterprise (supra) and Radhe Enterprise (supra) and the Delhi High Court judgment in M/s.Swarn Cosmetics (India) (supra), which have held that the show cause notices/orders are uploaded through the GST portal only through the digital key of the officer. T....
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....ndia vs. Harish Chandra Goswami [(1999) 4 SCC 575] relied upon by the petitioners does not further the plea raised by the petitioners on the same issue. 152. The petitioners have also placed reliance upon the case of M/s.ASP Traders (supra) on the question of service of notice in terms of Section 169(1)(d) of the CGST Act and the expression 'tendered' used in Section 169(2) of the Act. Reference is also made to Section 153(2) of the Customs Act, wherein it expressly provides that the date of upload shall be treated as the date of service, which is not specified under Section 169 of the CGST Act. This issue has also been answered in the foregoing paragraphs by this Court by referring to Section 13(2) of the Information Tax Act. Therefore, the petitioners cannot draw any assistance from the said decisions. 153. The plea raised by the petitioners on availability of statutory appellate remedy and expiry of limitation prescribed under the taxing statutes, in view of the decision rendered in Glaxo Smith Kline Consumer Health Care Limited (supra) while entertaining the writ petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution of India having adequately been dealt with in the foregoing pa....
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....sposed of in terms of the observations and directions made hereinabove. There shall be no order as to costs. Miscellaneous applications pending, if any, shall stand closed. ============= Document 1 Security Architecture: The Mechanics of the Digital Signature SIN How the GST System utilizes the Immutable JSON Record to ensure legal validity. 115 Unique Hash Generation (Detecto any alteration] INPUT [ 011:00011190 OUT Private Key Signing Public Key Verification - T R F Officer's Unique Identity (Class-3 DSC) Immutable JSON Record Confirms Authenticity & Origin $ IT Act 2000 (Section 3 & 13) ; Audit Log: Timestamp, User ID, DSG Serial Number Evidence Act (Section 65B) Document 2 The Legal Record vs. The Visual Copy. SIN Clarifying the distinction between the signed digital original and the human-readable printout. The Legal Record (Backend) The Visual Copy (Frontend) { ... } PDF System Auto-Generation - › Format: JSON (Machine Readable) › Signature: Cryptographic (Private Key embedded) > Status: Immutable & Original > Validation: 100% Traceable to Officer'....