The Delhi High Court has directed GST authorities in the nation that unless the applicant undergoes biometric-based Aadhaar authentication, no fresh GST registration will be provided.
The division bench of Justices Anil Khetarpal and Shail Jain passed the order in the middle of the continuing issue of bogus GST registrations obtained by misusing PAN and Aadhaar particulars belonging to unsuspecting individuals.
The Court mentions the numbers provided by the Union Minister of State for Finance in the Rajya Sabha. The data shows that authorities detected 2,800 fraudulent GST registrations using stolen or frozen PAN/Aadhaar details during 2023-24, with tax evasion of ₹15,085 crore. Authorities have detected 1,654 registrations during 2024-25, involving ₹13,109 crore in tax evasion.
The court observed that the Government had mentioned that biometric Aadhaar authentication was mandatory for GST registration. However, it noted that more than a year later, the measure had not been fully implemented.
“It appears that despite passage of more than one year, the statement given by the minister on the floor of the house has not been fully implemented,” the Court mentioned.
The court recorded that counsel for the authorities failed to identify any practical issues in making biometric Aadhaar authentication compulsory for GST registration.
As such, the Court asked authorities “across the country not to allow any GST Registration without biometric-based Aadhaar authentication henceforth.”
While issuing the directions, the bench granted the authorities the liberty to apprise the Court of any practical difficulties encountered in implementing this requirement.
The Court also questioned the authorities to consider a set of measures recommended via Senior Advocate Tarun Gulati to prevent misuse of PAN and Aadhaar details for obtaining bogus GST registrations.
The Case will next be heard on September 22, 2026.
| Case Title | Neha vs Union of India & ORS |
| Appeal No. | W.P.(C) 12210/2026 and CM APPL. 56533/2026 |
| For the Petitioner | Mr Manoj Kumar, Mr Ankit Singh, Mr Vaibhav Bhardwaj, Mr Chanderpal, Mr Nikhil Pramod |
| For the Respondent | Mr Sumit K. Batra, Ms Priyanka Jindal, and Ms Radhika Arora |
| Delhi High Court | Read Order |
