GST Network Clarifies Validity of Digital Signatures on Tax Documents

The GST Network clarified that show cause notices and assessment orders issued on the GST portal do not have visible digital signatures, but these details are stored in the backend. This advisory aims to address concerns regarding the legal validity of these documents, emphasizing that they are generated and verified using digital signatures.

The GST Network (GSTN) has clarified that show cause notices and assessment orders issued on its portal do not display digital signatures but have such details stored in the backend.

In an advisory to taxpayers, GSTN emphasized that the validity and purpose of these documents can be verified both pre-login and post-login from the GST portal.

Concerns were raised regarding the authenticity of documents issued on the common portal without visible digital signatures. GSTN assured that these documents are generated from the officer's login, which requires a digital signature.

'These computer-generated documents may not require physical signatures since officers issue them after logging in with a digital signature,' GSTN stated. 'All such documents in JSON format, along with issuing officer details and digital signatures, are stored in the GST system.'

All communications initiated by officers can be verified pre-login via a specified link.

Executive Director Rajat Mohan of Moore Singhi highlighted that the advisory addresses concerns about the lack of visible digital signatures in downloadable PDFs.

The question remains whether the absence of visible digital signatures impacts the documents' legal status. Mohan pointed out that Unique Document Identification Numbers (UDIN) had been introduced to ensure the authenticity of documents by GST officers.

'In the future, combining the Reference Number and UDIN into one system could make document verification more straightforward,' he added.

(With inputs from agencies.)