CBIC to use Document Identification Number from November 8

In order to protect honest GST taxpayers from any harassment at the hands of tax officials, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) will start using a unique number in all its communications with taxpayers from Friday. Every communication such as search authorization, inspection notices, arrest memos, and letters issued by the department will have a computer-generated Document Identification Number (DIN).

CBIC is the apex policy-making body for indirect taxes in the Central government. After being implemented by its counterpart for direct taxes, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) from October 1 this year, the CBIC has now also implemented this mechanism. The department will initially start using this unique DIN for investigation related communications and eventually will expand to cover all the communications issued to the taxpayers.

Communications without a DIN will be treated as invalid

In a letter issued to all the top officers on Tuesday, the CBIC said that all the communications issued on or after November 8 without a computer-generated document identification number will be invalid and deemed to have never been issued. The indirect tax policy body said in the circular, “In keeping with the government’s objective of transparency and accountability in indirect tax administration through widespread use of information technology, the CBIC is implementing a system for electronic (digital) generation of a Document Identification Number (DIN) for all communications sent by its office to taxpayers and other concerned person.”

Further, it stated that this measure would create a digital directory for maintaining an audit trail of all communications. GST taxpayers and recipients of summons, search warrants will have a digital facility to ascertain the genuineness of such communications by visiting the CBIC’s website.

What is the CBIC’s Document Identification Number (DIN)?

• The government is creating a proper audit trail of all the communications issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.
• The 20-digit computer-generated unique DIN will be displayed in the body of all the documents issued by the officers under the board.
• Only authorized officers will be entitled to generate CBIC-DIN by using the utility developed by the Directorate of Data Management (DDM) hosted on the CBIC’s online portal.
• From November 8 onwards, CBIC-DIN will be mandatory and no communication will be valid without it.