The present Writ Petition was filed before Hon’ble Andhra Pradesh High Court challenging orders of the Deputy Commissioner, Special Circle, Visakhapatnam-II dated 10.05.2024 requesting the Executive Engineer, Operation Division, Vizianagaram to stall the payment if any payable to the petitioner.
It was contended that that Respondent No. 1 initiated the impugned proceedings without the electronically generated the Document Identification Number (DIN). Issuance of such proceedings without generating the DIN/unique identification number generated through BO portal was contrary, not only to Circular No. 122/41/2019-GST, dated 05.11.2019 issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes, but also to Circular No. 2 of 2022 dated 01.08.2022 issued by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The Hon’ble High Court observed that the Respondents did not dispute the contentions of the petitioner that any such communication contrary to the aforementioned circulars is invalid and shall be deemed to have never been issued. Accordingly, the impugned proceedings were set aside with the at liberty to the department to proceed in accordance with law of completion of the Assessment proceedings.
W&B Comments: The failure to adhere to administrative requirements has been a recurring issue, as seen in this case. The CBIC Circular No. 122/41/2019-GST dated 05.11.2019, Circular No. 128/47/2019 dated 23.12.2019, and Instruction No. 03/2022-23 (GST Investigation) dated 17.08.2022 mandate the use of the DIN system to ensure transparency and accountability in communication with taxpayers. The Hon’ble Jharkhand High Court in ESL Stell Ltd.[1] has previously ruled that show cause notices and refund rejection orders lacking a DIN are invalid, rendering subsequent proceedings null and void. This case reinforces the necessity for the department to generate a DIN for all relevant communications as stipulated by the circulars.
[1] 2024(83) G.S.T.L.339(Jhar.)