Ravi Cotton Traders vs. The Assistant Commissioner(St)
Held
The Court set aside the assessment order due to the inherent defect of lacking a DIN, a patent irregularity. It remanded the assessment back to the Assessing Officer to pass fresh orders after providing an opportunity of hearing, conditional on the petitioner depositing 20% of the disputed tax.
Facts
Ravi Cotton Traders challenged a GST assessment order (Form GST DRC-07) dated 10.12.2020, arguing it lacked a Document Identification Number (DIN), was unsigned, and violated principles of natural justice. They also contested the rejection of their appeal as time-barred and subsequent recovery proceedings under Section 79.
Key Issues
The key issues were the validity of an assessment order lacking a Document Identification Number (DIN) and proper service, and whether delay in challenging such an order should be condoned given practical difficulties with the GST online mechanism.
Sections Cited
Section 74, Section 74(9), Section 75(4), Section 75(6), Section 79, Section 142(1A), Section 169(1)(d)
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Date of reserved for orders : Date of pronouncement : 24.06.2026 Date of uploading : APHC010313262026
IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI (Special Original Jurisdiction) [3591] WEDNESDAY, THE 24th DAY OF JUNE 2026 PRESENT THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE R RAGHUNANDAN RAO THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE TUHIN KUMAR GEDELA WRIT PETITION NO: 16484/2026 Between:
RAVI COTTON TRADERS, REPRESENTED BY SHRI VELIDI SRINIVASA RAO ETUKURROAD, 20-18-259, SRIPATHI COTTON GINNING MILL, 7TH LANE, DS NAGAR, GUNTUR, ANDHRA PRADESH - 522 006. ...PETITIONER AND 1. THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONERST, PATNAM BAZAAR CIRCLE, GUNTUR I DIVISION, D. NO 11-1-73/1, 1ST FLOOR, VASUNDHARA BUILDINGS, RAJAJI BHAVAN, JINNA TOWER CENTRE, GUNTUR, ANDHRA PRADESH - 522 001. 2. THE DEPUTY ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER ST, PATNAM BAZAAR CIRCLE, GUNTUR I DIVISION, D. NO 11-1-73/1, 1ST FLOOR, VASUNDHARA BUILDINGS, RAJAJI BHAVAN, JINNA TOWER CENTRE, GUNTUR, ANDHRA PRADESH - 522 001. 3. THE ADDITIONAL COMMISSIONER ST, APPELLATE AUTHORITY, VIJAYAWADA, D NO. 40-5-19/9B, BACK OF NVKR TOWERS, MOGALRAJAPURAM, VIJAYAWADA, ANDHRA PRADESH - 520 010. 4. THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADE
The judgment continues below.
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