The Court ruled that portal login authentication is not a substitute for signing a GST document; an unsigned SCN and order were held invalid and set aside, with fresh proceedings allowed.
The Rajasthan High Court treated the absence of signature on the SCN and Order-in-Original as a jurisdictional defect that Section 160 of the CGST Act cannot cure.
The Court quashed the demand shown on the GST portal and related recovery steps affecting the petitioner’s banking transactions, and permitted fresh proceedings.
Star Raison Landmarks was selected for scrutiny via Form ASMT-10. After the company responded, the tax department issued an SCN under Section 73, followed by an Order-in-Original. The GST portal reflected a demand of Rs 11,76,97,600 and recovery actions were initiated that disrupted the company's banking transactions.
The petitioner challenged the validity of the SCN, Form DRC-01, the Order-in-Original, and Form DRC-07 on the basis that none bore a physical or digital signature. Counsel for the petitioner argued that without authentication these documents lacked legal validity and could not support recovery.
Officials said documents processed via the BOWEB portal do not appear on GSTN unless the concerned officer applies a digital signature. They pointed out that an ARN and reference number had been generated and suggested a digital signature might exist even if it was not visible on a downloaded copy.
The Court quashed the unsigned SCN and corresponding orders. It allowed fresh proceedings to be initiated in accordance with legal requirements, implicitly requiring properly authenticated notices and orders before any recovery or other enforcement steps proceed.
For taxpayers and tax officers, the ruling draws a clear line: portal-based processing and generation of tracking numbers do not replace the need to sign documents when the law requires authentication. Recovery actions taken on the basis of unsigned documents can be set aside as jurisdictional defects. Tax authorities will need to confirm that documents bear the required authentication before initiating enforcement.
Case: Star Raison Landmarks vs Chief Commissioner State Tax, Commercial Taxes Department. D.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 8893/2024. Counsel for appellant: Mr Jatin Harjai, Nikshubha Sharma. Counsel for respondents: Ms Mahi Yadav, Ms Chelsi Agarwal, Mr Sandeep Pathak, Ms Shefali Sharma. Decision by the Rajasthan High Court.
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