GST Notices and Orders must be Signed Digitally or Physically: Jharkhand Imposes Rs. 10k cost on Dept

The Jharkhand High Court has imposed a cost of Rs 10,000 on the GST department, ruling that all notices and orders issued under the GST law must be signed, either digitally or physically. The court found that the department had issued an unsigned notice, which it held to be invalid. The court emphasized that a signature, whether digital or physical, is a fundamental requirement to authenticate a document and to fix the responsibility of the issuing officer. An unsigned notice lacks legal validity and cannot be the basis for any proceedings against a taxpayer. By imposing a cost on the department, the High Court has sent a strong message about the importance of adhering to this basic legal requirement, thereby ensuring that taxpayers are not subjected to proceedings based on invalid and unauthenticated documents.