The GST portal has introduced important procedural updates for refund applicants filing claims for unused ITC. According to the revised refund utility, Annexure-B must now be prepared using the offline utility and uploaded in JSON format.
The updated utility wants several additional invoice-level particulars beyond the Annexure-B format earlier referred to in Circular No. 135/05/2020-GST dated 31.03.2020, along with the type of inward supply, type of document, total ITC, ITC blocked under Section 17(5), eligible ITC, ineligible ITC, and GSTR-2B return period.
It shows a decision for the system-based validation of refund invoices with GSTR-2B, allowing the portal to verify whether the invoices forming part of the refund claim are duly shown in the auto-drafted ITC statement of the applicant.
Under FORM GST RFD-01, taxpayers filing refund applications are recommended to undertake a detailed reconciliation of the purchase register, ITC ledger, GSTR-2B, and refund working before uploading Annexure-B. Specific care is required to be taken to identify the GSTR-2B month, eligibility of ITC, blocked credit under Section 17(5), and reversals under applicable GST provisions.
The same update is anticipated to correct invoice-level verification and lessen manual scrutiny, but it will also surge the documentation and reconciliation burden on exporters, SEZ suppliers, and other taxpayers claiming a refund of accumulated ITC.
Reference: Circular No. 135/05/2020-GST dated 31.03.2020; Circular No. 170/02/2022-GST dated 06.07.2022; Section 54 of the CGST Act, 2017; Rule 89 of the CGST Rules, 2017.
Important Compliance Note
Now the refund filers must not consider Annexure B as a simple invoice annexure. It is now becoming a reconciliation-based data upload where every invoice may be required to be mapped with:
Books → GSTR-2B → ITC Eligibility → Blocked/Ineligible ITC → Refund Claim Amount
The same shall make the refund preparation more time-consuming, but it also gets more system-driven and less dependent on manual officer-level verification.
Source: A2ztaxcorp.net
