Online Procedure and documentation for Export Refund application under GST from April 2020

Timely refund mechanism is essential in tax administration, as it facilitates trade through release of blocked funds for working capital, expansion and modernization of existing business.

The claim and sanctioning procedure will be completely online in GST RFD 01 Form Only a registered person can apply for refund under the GST. Documentary evidences are required to be furnished to establish that a refund is due to the applicant; and the incidence of such tax and interest had not been passed on to any other person. No refund shall be paid to the applicant if the refund is less than Rs. 1,000. The limit of Rs. 1,000 shall apply to each tax head separately and not cumulatively.

Who and in what situation taxpayers can claim for refund?

Refund includes the following:

1. Refund of tax paid on zero rated supplies of goods or services or both or on inputs or input services used in making such zero-rated supplies, or
2. Refund of tax on the supply of goods regarded as deemed exports, or
3. Refund of unutilized input tax credit in respect of inverted rate of goods as per section 54(3).
4. Refund of taxes on purchase made by UN or
   embassies etc
5. Refund arising on account of judgment, decree, order
   or direction of the Appellate Authority, Appellate
   Tribunal or any court
6. Finalisation of provisional assessment
7. Refund of pre-deposit
8. Excess payment due to mistake
9. Refunds to International tourists of GST paid on
   goods in India and carried abroad at the time of their
   departure from India
10. Refund on account of issuance of refund vouchers
    for taxes paid on advances against which goods or
    services have not been supplied

What is Time Limit to Apply for Refund

As per section 54, the tax payer must make application of refund of tax and interest in the prescribed form within 2 years from relevant date.

Relevant date in case of refund are as follows:

Sr no	Case	Relevant Date
1	Goods exported out of India where a refund of tax paid is available in respect of goods themselves or, as the case may be the inputs or input services used in such goods – If the goods are exported by sea or air If the goods are exported by landIf the goods are exported by post	The date on which the ship or the aircraft in which such goods are loaded, leaves India; orThe date on which such goods pass the frontier; orThe date of dispatch of goods by the post office concerned to a place outside India;
2	Supply of goods regarded as deemed exports where a refund of tax paid is available in respect of the goods	The date on which the return relating to such deemed exports is furnished
3	Services exported out of India where a refund of tax paid is available in respect of services themselves or, as the case may be, the input or input services used in such services and The supply of services had been completed prior to the receipt of such paymentPayment for the services had been received in advance prior to the date of issue of the invoice	The date of receipt of payment in convertible foreign exchange or in Indian rupees wherever permitted by the RBIThe date of issue of invoice
4	Where the tax becomes refundable as a consequence of judgement, decree, order or direction of the appellate authority, appellate tribunal or any court	The date of communication of such judgement, decree, order or direction;
5	Refund of unutilized input tax credit under clause (ii) of the first proviso to section 54(3) i.e. on account of inverted duty structure	The due date for furnishing of return under section 39 for the period in which such claim for refund arises
6	Where tax is paid provisionally under this act or the rules made thereafter	The date of adjustment of tax after the final assessment thereof;
7	A person, other than the supplier	The date of receipt of goods or services or both by such person; and
8	Other cases	The date of payment of tax

Who to apply for Refund of tax?

In case of supplies to a special economic zone unit or special economic zone developer, the application for refund shall be filed by the:

1. Supplier of goods after such goods have been admitted in full in the special economic zone for authorized operations, as endorsed by the specified officer of the zone.
2. Supplier of service along with such evidence regarding receipt of services for authorized operations as endorsed by the specified officer of the zone.

In case of supplies which are regarded as deemed export the application may be filed by: –

1. The recipient of deemed export supplies; or
2. The supplier of deemed export supplies in cases where the recipient does not avail of input tax credit on such supplies and furnishes an undertaking to the effect that the supplier may claim the refund

What are the circumstances under which the refund is granted to taxpayer?

As per section 54(8) the principle of unjust enrichment is applicable in all cases of refund except in the following cases where the refundable amount shall, instead of being credited to the fund, be paid to the applicant, if such amount is relatable to –

1. Refund of tax paid on export of goods or services or both or on inputs or input services used in making such exports
2. Refund of unutilized ITC in case of zero-rated supplies or accumulated ITC on account of inverted duty structure
3. Refund of tax paid on a supply which is not provided, either wholly or partially, and for which involve has not been issued, or where a refund voucher has been issued;
4. The tax and interest, if any, or any other amount paid by the applicant, if he has not passed on the incidence of such tax and interest to any other person; or
5. The tax or interest borne by such other class of applicants as the government may, on the recommendations of the council, by notifications, specify

What is the documentary evidence required in case of refund of GST?

The application of refund shall accompany along with the following documentary evidence which establish that a refund is due to the taxpayer or applicant:

1. The reference number of the order and a copy of the order passed by the proper officer or an appellate authority or appellate tribunal or court resulting in such refund or the reference number of the payment of the amount to be deposited at the rime of filing of appeal before appellate authority or appellate tribunal
2. Where the refund is on account of export of goods then a statement containing the number and date of shipping bills of export and the number and the date of the relevant export invoices,
3. Where the refund is on account of the export of services, then a statement containing the number and the relevant Bank realization certificates or foreign realization certificates or foreign inward remittance certificates, as the case may be,
4. Where supply of goods made to SEZ unit or a SEZ developer then a statement containing the number and date of invoices as provided in rule 46 along with the evidence regarding goods admitted in full for authorized operations as endorsed by the specified officer of SEZ.
5. Where the refund is on account of supply of services made to a SEZ unit or SEZ developer then a statement containing the number and date of invoices, the evidence regarding the endorsement by specified officers of SEZ and the details of payment , along with the proof thereof, made by the recipient to the supplier for authorized operations defined under the SEZ act, 2005
6. In case, where the refund is on account of supply of goods or services or both made to a SEZ unit or a SEZ developer then a declaration to the effect that tax has not been collected from the SEX unit or the SEX developer.
7. Where the refund is on account of deemed exports than a statement containing the number and date of invoices along with such other evidence as may be notified in this behalf, till date the following have been notified:
   • Undertaking by the recipient of demand export supplies that no ITC on such supplies has been availed by him.
   • Undertaking by the recipient of demand export supplies that he shall not claim the refund in respect of such supplies and the supplier may claim the refund.
   • Acknowledgment by the jurisdictional tax officer of the advance authorization holder or export promotion capital goods authorization holder, as the case may be, that the said deemed export supplies have been received by the said advance authorization holder or export promotion capital goods authorization holder or a copy of the tax invoice under which such supplies have been made by the supplier, duly signed by the recipient EOU that the said deemed export supplies have been received by it.
8. Where the claim pertains to refund of any unutilized input tax credit under section 54(3) i.e. credit in case of inverted duty structure
9. Where the refund arises on account of the finalization of provisional assessment than the reference number of the final assessment order and copy of the said order
10. A statement showing the details of transactions considered as intra state supply but which is subsequently held to be inter-state supply
11. A statement showing the details of the amount of claim on account of excess payment of tax;
12. Where the claim of refund does not exceed Rs. 2,00,000 then a declaration to the incidence of tax interest or any other amount claimed as refund has not been passed on to any other person.

Procedure of application for Export refund under GST through GST RFD 01

The following is the procedure for refund under GST through GST RFD 01:

Step 1: Go to https://www.gst.gov.in/ and Log in to GST portal

Now Go to Dashboard

Step 2: Now under “Service” tab Go to “Refunds” tab and click on “Application for refund” option

It will redirect to select the type of refund application to be made

Step 3: Select the “Refund type”

Now select the preferred refund type as “Refund of ITC on Export of Goods & Services without Payment of Tax”, the tax Period for which the refund to be applied and Click on “Create Refund Application” button.

It will redirect to GST RFD 01 Form

Step 4: Filing of Export general Manifest details

Click on “Download Offline Utility” it will download utility for filling details of Export general Manifest. Open the file and click on enable editing button it will now allow you to edit the sheet

Enter the following details in the sheet:

• GSTIN of the applicant
• Period for which the refund to be applied
• Invoice wise details of Shipping bill and Export general Manifest details
• After filling the details click on “validate and calculate” button it will validate the sheet
• Once the sheet is validated, click on “Create file to upload” it will create json

Now, go to GST RFD 01 form and click on “Click to upload the details of Exports of goods and/ or services” link. It will redirect you to upload the Json file generated by utility.

Click on “Click here to upload” button select the file path and upload the “Json file” and Click on “Valid the statement” button it will validate the file uploaded

Now, click on proceed button, the Shipping bill and Export manifest details will get uploaded by the system.

Step 5: Computation of refund claimed and eligible refund amount:

Go back to GST RFD 01 form,

1. Now, In the 1^st column you have enter the Turnover of zero-rated supply of goods or services, the adjusted total turnover and the net input tax credit. After providing the above details the Maximum refund amount to be claimed will be calculated by the system.
2. After doing the above step, enter the amount of refund to be claimed in column no 3 and through which Major head of tax i.e. through IGST, CGST or SGST. The amount of refund to be claimed cannot be more than the amount of balance in the electronic credit ledger

Step 6: Select bank account and upload documents

Now, Select the bank account in which the refund is to be credited

Now upload the documents in relation to the export which are as follows:

1. Export invoice
2. Export general manifest details
3. Shipping bill details
4. Purchase bill relating to the export invoice
5. Bank realization certificate
6. LUT bond copy

Note:

• Only pdf file format is allowed
• Maximum file size for upload is 5MB each
• Maximum 10 documents can be uploaded

 Step 7: Submission of form GST RFD 01:

Now select the “Declaration” and “Undertaking” check box and select the LUT reference no through which the refund is to be claimed and click on “Save” button this will save the form

Now click on Submit button. Through this step the form will get submitted on the GST portal. Further verify the form through EVC or DSC as applicable and file the form.

After the form is submitted you can view the application status through “Track application status” link under “Refund” option under “Services” tab