GST Assessment Order Without DIN/RFN Held Defective and Quashed

Centax Editorial Board

May 30, 2026

• 2 min. read

Case Details: Anne Lakshmana Rao vs. Assistant Commissioner (2026) 42 Centax 288 (A.P.)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

- R. Raghunandan Rao & T.C.D. Sekhar, JJ.
- Shri S. Siva Kumari, for the Petitioner.

Facts of the Case

The petitioner challenged an assessment order passed under GST on the ground that the order did not contain a Document Identification Number (DIN) or RFN number. It was contended that the order had been uploaded on the GST portal without any system-generated identification and therefore stood vitiated. The Revenue objected to the maintainability of the writ petition on the ground of delay and contended that service of the order through the GST portal constituted valid service under Section 169(1)(d) of the CGST Act, 2017. The matter was accordingly placed before the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

High Court Held

The High Court held that earlier binding precedents had already settled that absence of DIN is sufficient to invalidate departmental orders. It was observed that although ignorance of law or inability to access the GST portal would ordinarily not constitute sufficient cause for condonation of delay, practical hardships arising from the GST online mechanism could not be ignored, particularly where the impugned order suffered from patent irregularities. The Court further observed that the assessment order lacked DIN/RFN and therefore suffered from an inherent defect. Accordingly, the impugned assessment order was set aside and the matter was remanded to the Assessing Officer for fresh adjudication after granting opportunity of hearing to the petitioner, subject to deposit of 20% of the disputed tax. The writ petition was accordingly disposed of.