Gujarat High Court upholds Validity of GST Summons without DIN issued by State GST Officers

The Gujarat High Court has upheld the validity of GST summons issued by State GST officers even without a Document Identification Number (DIN). The petitioner had challenged the summons, arguing that the absence of a DIN made it invalid, based on a central government circular that mandated DIN for all communications from Central GST officers. However, the High Court held that the central circular is binding only on central tax authorities and not on state tax authorities, who are governed by their own respective state GST laws. The court observed that the Gujarat GST Act does not have a provision that makes DIN mandatory for the issuance of summons. Therefore, the summons issued by the State GST officer was deemed to be legally valid. This judgment clarifies the distinct administrative procedures followed by central and state GST bodies.