The Delhi High Court has directed authorities across the country not to permit any new GST registration without biometric-based Aadhaar authentication, citing continuing cases of fraudulent registrations using the PAN and Aadhaar details of innocent people.
A Division Bench of Justice Anil Khetarpal and Justice Shail Jain passed the direction on September 8, 2026, while hearing petitions including Neha v. Union of India & Ors.
Background of the Case
The Court was dealing with allegations that GST registrations had been obtained by other persons using the PAN and Aadhaar numbers of individuals who had no connection with those businesses.
The issue had earlier prompted the Court to seek assistance on measures to prevent misuse of identity documents and issue notice to the Commissioner of Delhi Police.
Senior Counsel Tarun Gulati subsequently placed several suggestions before the Court. These included mandatory facial recognition, video-based verification, recording IP addresses and device locations, physical verification of business premises, and real-time communication with PAN and Aadhaar holders.
Court's Observation
The Court noted that respondents did not dispute that fraudulent GST registrations using PAN and Aadhaar details had become a serious problem. It also recorded that such practices affect innocent citizens and cause revenue loss to the government.
The order referred to government data placed before the Court showing 2,800 fraudulent GST registrations involving ₹15,085 crore in detected tax evasion during 2023-24. For 2024-25, 1,654 such registrations and ₹13,109 crore in detected tax evasion were disclosed.
The Court also observed that although biometric Aadhaar authentication had reportedly been made mandatory, the measure had not been fully implemented.
"The authorities are expected to take up the matter with all seriousness."
Decision
Finding that the respondents had not pointed out any practical difficulty in making biometric Aadhaar authentication mandatory, the Court directed all authorities across the country not to allow any GST registration without such authentication henceforth.
The authorities were given liberty to place objections regarding practical difficulties in implementing the direction. The Court also asked them to examine the preventive measures suggested by Tarun Gulati.
The matters were listed for further consideration on September 22, 2026.
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