Circular No. 122/41/2019-GST: generation and quoting of Document Identification Number (DIN) on communications issued by CBIC officers [C10-4AD]

2. The Board in exercise of its power under section 168(1) of the CGST Act, 2017/ Section 37B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 directs that no search authorization, summons, arrest memo, inspection notices and letters issued in the course of any enquiry shall be issued by any officer under the Board to a taxpayer or any other person, on or after the 8th day of November, 2019 without a computer-generated Document Identification Number (DIN) being duly quoted prominently in the body of such communication.

3. Whereas DIN is a mandatory requirement, in exceptional circumstances communications may be issued without an auto generated DIN. However, this exception is to be made only after recording the reasons in writing in the concerned file. Also, such communication shall expressly state that it has been issued without a DIN. The exigent situations [...] are as follows:-

(i) when there are technical difficulties in generating the electronic DIN, or

(ii) when communication regarding investigation/enquiry, verification etc. is required to be issued at short notice or in urgent situations and the authorized officer is outside the office in the discharge of his official duties.

4. The Board also directs that any specified communication which does not bear the electronically generated DIN and is not covered by the exceptions mentioned in para 3 above, shall be treated as invalid and shall be deemed to have never been issued.

5. Any communication issued without an electronically generated DIN in the exigencies mentioned in para 3 above shall be regularized within 15 working days of its issuance [...]