Nearly Rs 6,500 crores as refunds have been claimed by the exporters within four months of GST implementation. The government said that now exporters can file claims in the proper manner along with matching shipping bills to get refunds earlier.
Uploading of Final sales return for the month of August in GSTR-1 Form on GSTN portal will start from 4 December.
“It is clarified that the quantum of IGST (Integrated GST) refund claims as filed through shipping bills during the period July to October, is approximately Rs 6,500 crore and the quantum of refund of unutilized credit on inputs or input services, as per the RFD-01A (Form in English & Form in Hindi) applications filed on GSTN portal, is to the tune of Rs. 30 crores”, said Finance Ministry.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs has permitted those businesses making zero-rated supplies or those who have paid IGST on exports and want to claim the credit on inputs to do the same by filling the RFD-01A Form. Exporters who have paid IGST on goods and claimed the refund based on shipping bills after filling the Table 6A without any errors have already started receiving refunds since last month.
If exporters face any issues relating to refund claims they can consult with the chief commissioner of central tax as well as commissioner of state tax. The finance ministry clarified that out of total IGST paid on exported goods, most of the refund claims for exports have been approved by the government for the month of July.
According to a statement of Finance Ministry, “Refund claims of IGST paid for exports made in August, September and October 2017 are being sanctioned seamlessly wherever returns have been accurately filed. Exporters should file GSTR-3B, Table 6A of GSTR-1 on the GSTN portal and shipping bills on Customs EDI System.”
Several factors such as the mismatch of invoice number and IGST amount paid, wrong bank account, the instance of errors noticed in shipping bill number in GSTR-1- led to delay in getting refunds, said Finance Ministry. “These errors are the sole reason for the delay in grant of refunds, or rejection thereof. While information has been made available to Exporters on the ICEGATE portal if they are registered, they may also contact jurisdictional customs authorities to check the errors they have committed in furnishing information regarding GST returns and shipping bill, and rectify them at the earliest”, said Ministry in a statement.
Recommended: Goods and Services Tax Impact on Export Industry in India
Ministry said to exporters that in order to get refunds on time exporters must provide the factual and correct information on Table 6A of GSTR-1 and the right shipping bill on GSTN portal. It was also added that Customs system works automatically and if the information provided by the exporters on GSTN portal is accurate, the exporters will get timely refunds.
“Exporters may, therefore, take due precaution to ensure that no errors creep in while filing Table 6A of GSTR-1 of August 2017 and onwards”, the ministry said. If the exporters have made mistakes while filing claim forms of July month, they can rectify it by using Table-9 of GSTR-1 for August returns, said Ministry in a statement.
To get refunds on time, it is mandatory that the exporters submit essential documents along with the Form RFD-01A. Finance Ministry said, “Exporters are advised to immediately file Table 6A and GSTR-3B, for processing of IGST refund; RFD-01A on GSTN portal for a refund of the unutilized ITC on inputs or input services used in making exports; and GSTR-1 for August 2017 for amending details provided in July GSTR-1.”
Several measures have been taken by the government to reduce the complexity for exporters in getting refunds on time.
