The Hon’ble High Court of Andhra Pradesh in the case of Arhaan Ferrous and Non Ferrous Solutions (P.) Ltd. v. Superintendent, Central Tax [Writ Petition No 8639/2025 dated April 23, 2025] held that a Show Cause Notice (“SCN”) issued without containing a Document Identification Number (“DIN”) would be non-est and invalid. Further, the Central Board of Indirect Tax and Customs (“CBIC”) vide Circular No. 128/47/2019-GST dated December 23, 2019 stated that non-mention of a DIN would render SCN invalid.
Facts:
M/s Arhaan Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Solutions (P.) Ltd. (“the Petitioner”) was issued a SCN dated March 26, 2025 (“the Impugned SCN”) by the Commercial Tax Department (“the Respondent”).
The Petitioner registration was provisionally suspended in the SCN
Hence, aggrieved by the Impugned SCN, the Petitioner filed the present writ petition on the ground that it did not contain DIN.
Issue:
Whether a SCN can be issued without DIN?
Held:
The Hon’ble High Court of Andhra Pradesh in Writ Petition No 8639/2025 held as under:
- Observed that, the SCN was issued to the petitioner did not contain the DIN number and CBIC issued the Circular No 128/47/2019-GST stated that non-mention of a DIN number would render show cause notice invalid.
- Noted that, CBIC Circular No. 128/47/2019-GST dated December 23, 2019 mandates that all communications under the GST regime must compulsorily bear a DIN, failing which the document shall be deemed invalid.
- Relied on, the case of Pradeep Goyal v. Union of India [Writ Petition (Civil) No. 320 of 2022 July 18, 2022] wherein the Hon’ble Supreme Court held that after noticing the provisions of the CGST Act and the Circular issued by the CBIC, had held that an order, which does not contain a DIN number would be non-est and invalid.
- Relied on, the Division Bench of this Court of M/s Cluster Enterprises v. The Deputy Assistant Commissioner (ST)-2, Kadapa [2024(&) G.S.T.L. 179 (A.P.)] on the basis of the Circular No. 128/47/2019-GST dated December 23, 2019 (“the Circular”), held that non-mention of a DIN number would mitigate against the validity of such proceedings.
- Relied on, the Division Bench of this Court in the case of Sai Manikanta Electrical Contractors v. The Deputy Commissioner, Special Circle, Visakhapatnam [2024 (88) G.S.T.L. 303 (A.P.)] also held that non-mention of a DIN number would require the order to be set aside.
- Held that, in view of the aforesaid judgments and the circular issued by the CBIC, the non-mention of a DIN number in the SCN, which was uploaded in the portal, requires the Impugned SCN to be set aside. Accordingly, the present writ petition was disposed of, setting aside the Impugned SCN, issued by the Respondent, with liberty to conduct fresh assessment, after giving notice to the Petitioner and assigning a DIN number to the Impugned SCN and any consequential order. As the Impugned SCN has been set aside, even the provisional suspension would stand revoked. There shall be no order as to costs.
Our Comments:
Circular No. 122/41/2019- GST dated November 05, 2019 that was issued to implement the decision for generation and quoting of DIN on specified documents. This was done with a view to leverage technology for greater accountability and transparency in communications with the trade/ taxpayers/ other concerned persons.
Circular No.128/47/2019-GST dated December 23, 2019 clarifies that DIN shall be done in respect of all communications including e-mails) sent to tax payers and other concerned persons by any office of the CBIC across the country. Instructions contained in this Para would come into effect from December 24, 2019.
Recently, CBIC issued Circular No. 249/06/2025-GST on June 9, 2025, clarified the necessity of quoting the DIN on communications under GST. Earlier, the directives mandated DIN usage to ensure accountability and transparency. However, communications generated via the GST common portal already include a Reference Number (“RFN”), which is verifiable online and provides essential document details such as issuance date, type, and originating office.
As per Section 169 of the CGST Act, serving documents electronically through the common portal fulfills statutory requirements, rendering additional DIN quoting redundant. This clarification modifies prior instructions under Circular Nos. 122/41/2019-GST and 128/47/2019-GST. The updated directive emphasizes that RFN-bearing communications are valid without DIN, streamlining the process while maintaining traceability. Tax authorities and CBIC offices are directed to implement this change effectively.
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