Andhra Pradesh HC Rules GST Orders Without DIN Are ‘Invalid’ but Not Void

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has held that Goods and Services Tax (GST) assessment orders issued without the mandatory Document Identification Number (DIN) are invalid but not void ab initio and remain operative unless annulled by a competent court. 

A Division Bench of Justices R. Raghunandan Rao and Sumathi Jagadam clarified that while CBIC’s DIN circulars are binding to ensure transparency, violation makes an order invalid rather than automatically null.

The Court dismissed writ petitions filed belatedly against such orders, noting that taxpayers had accessed them through the GST portal and could not plead ignorance.