Delhi HC Orders Biometric Aadhaar Authentication For All GST Registrations Nationwide [Read Order]

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has directed all authorities across the country not to allow any GST registration without biometric-based Aadhaar authentication, while hearing a batch of connected petitions alleging that fraudulent GST registrations were being obtained in the names of innocent citizens by misusing their PAN and Aadhaar details.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Anil Kshetarpal and Justice Shail Jain was hearing connected writ petitions filed by Neha and Vikram Kaushal, both of whom alleged that GST registrations had been fraudulently obtained in their names by unknown persons using their PAN and Aadhaar card numbers, resulting in the creation of substantial and unwarranted tax liabilities against them.

Noting that if the petitioners' allegations were accepted, fraudulent GST registrations were rampant in the names of innocent persons across the country, the court had earlier requested Senior Advocate Mr. Tarun Gulati, who normally appears for assessees before the court, to assist it and file a note suggesting ways and means to curb such practices. Notice was also issued to the Commissioner of Delhi Police.

In compliance with the court's request, Mr. Gulati placed on record a set of suggestions, which included making facial recognition against the Aadhaar database mandatory during registration, requiring a video-based verification in which the applicant shows the original PAN and Aadhaar card along with a system-generated code, capturing and preserving the IP address and device location used at the time of filing, and mandatory or randomised physical verification of the principal place of business before registration is granted. Other suggestions included real-time sharing of data with the Income Tax Department along with alerts to the PAN holder, flagging sudden spikes in turnover, real-time confirmation from the Aadhaar holder, a DigiLocker-based consent notification, a dedicated risk parameter for PAN-Aadhaar mismatch to be created by the Directorate General of Analytics and Risk Management, and nomination of identifiable persons who could corroborate the applicant's identity and the existence of the business.

It was not disputed by counsel for the respondents that the problem of fraudulent GST registrations obtained using the PAN and Aadhaar details of innocent citizens had been rampant since the enforcement of the CGST Act, 2017. The government's own affidavit disclosed that the Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance had informed the Rajya Sabha that 2,800 fraudulent GST registrations involving detection of Rs.15,085 crores of tax evasion were found in 2023-2024 using stolen or frozen PAN and Aadhaar details, and that 1,654 such fraudulent registrations involving Rs.13,109 crores of tax evasion were detected in 2024-2025, despite biometric Aadhaar-based authentication having reportedly been made mandatory for GST registration.

The court also expressed concern that although the Commissioner of Delhi Police had deputed an officer to assist it pursuant to its earlier order, the officer, when asked, was found to be unaware of the problem or the issues involved in such cases.

Observing that counsel for the respondents had failed to point out any difficulty in mandating biometric Aadhaar-based authentication for GST registration, the court held that, for the time being, “directions are issued to all the authorities across the country not to allow any GST Registration without biometric based AADHAR authentication henceforth.”

Liberty was granted to the authorities to file objections regarding any practical difficulty in implementing the direction, and they were also directed to examine the suggestions placed on record by Mr. Gulati. The matter has been listed for further consideration on 22.09.2026.

Appearances:

For the Petitioner (Neha): Mr. Manoj Kumar, Mr. Ankit Singh, Mr. Vaibhav Bhardwaj, Mr. Chanderpal, Mr. Nikhil Pramod, Mr. Animesh Gaur and Ms. Satya Shruti, Advocates.

For the Respondents (Union of India & Ors.): Mr. Sumit K. Batra and Ms. Priyanka Jindal, Advocates; Ms. Radhika Arora, CGSC with Ms. Disha Choudhary, GP (UOI); Mr. Ankit Raj, SC with Mr. Saurabh Mishra and Mr. Digvijay Singh, Advocates; Ms. Radhika Bishwajit Dubey, CGSC and Ms. Disha Chaudhary, GP with Ms. Gurleen Kaur Waraich, Mr. Kritarth Upadhyay, Mr. Vivek Sharma, Mr. Amulya Dev Mishra and Mr. Saksham Sharma; and Mr. Shubham Tyagi, SSC CBIC with Ms. Navruti Ojha, Advocate.

For the Petitioner (Vikram Kaushal): Counsel (appearance not given).

For the Respondents (Director General of Income Tax (Investigation) & Ors.): Mr. Gaurav Gupta, SSC, Mr. Shivendra Singh, JSC, Mr. Yojit Pareek, JSC and Mr. Surya Jindal, Advocate; Mr. Pradeep Bhatia, Advocate.

Case Title: Neha vs. Union of India & Ors., W.P.(C) 12210/2026 and CM APPL. 56533/2026, with connected matter Vikram Kaushal vs. Director General of Income Tax (Investigation) & Ors., W.P.(C) 6218/2026 and CM APPL. 30487/2026.

 [Read Order]