The Jharkhand High Court has quashed the summary of show-cause notice in Form GST DRC-01 without the officer’s digital signature.
The bench of Chief Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao and Justice Rajesh Shankar observed that summary of show-cause notice in Form GST DRC-01 as well as the order under Section 73 of the Jharkhand GST Act dated 28th August, 2024 do not bear the digital signature of the State Tax Officer.
The bench relied on the decision in the case of Rajendra Modi vs. State of Jharkhand in which it was held that the Jharkhand High Court deprecate the practice on the part of the department in issuing show cause notices and passing orders without putting a digital signature or a physical signature particularly when Rule 26(3) of the Jharkhand Goods and Services Tax (SGST) Rules, 2017 mandates issuance of notices, certificates or orders only through a digital signature certificate.
The principal contention of the petitioner/assessee was that the show cause notice in Form GST DRC-01 issued does not contain the signature and seal or digital signature of officer who issued it and even the summary of the order in Form GST DRC-07 was unsigned and does not bear digital signature of the officer.
The court quashed the proceedings as well as the order and granted the liberty to the department to initiate proceedings afresh, if permitted by law.
Case Details
Case Title: Sadanand Prasad Barnwal Versus The State of Jharkhand
Case No.: W.P.(T) No.423 of 2025
Date: 08.05.2025
Counsel For Petitioner: P.P.N. Roy, Sr. Advocate
Counsel For Respondent: Gaurav Raj
