GST refund
CA Poonam Gandhi

Updated on February 15th, 2023

The wide meaning of the word ‘Refund’ simply means an amount of money that is received back by the person on happening/ occurring of some specific event.

Similarly, under taxation, ‘Refund’ means reimbursement of the amount of taxes, or any other relevant amount to the taxpayer, when the taxpayer pays more than they owe.

Accordingly, the provisions of section 54 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 deals with the refund provisions under Goods and Services Tax (GST).

The present article covers the list of various refunds available under GST and briefly covers the refund provisions relating to the refund of excess tax paid.

List of refunds allowed under GST

refund list

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The refund claim, under GST, may arise on account of any of the followings-

  • Excess balance available in the Electronic Cash Ledger.
  • Refund of Input Tax Credit on the export of goods and services undertaken without payment of tax.
  • Refund of Input Tax Credit against supplies made to SEZ unit/ developer without payment of tax.
  • Input Tax Credit accumulated due to Inverted Duty Structure.
  • Export of services undertaken on payment of tax.
  • Supplies to SEZ unit/ developer on payment of tax
  • Excess payment of tax.
  • Refund by recipient or supplier of the deemed export.
  • Refund on account of Assessment or Provisional Assessment or Appeal or any other order.
  • Tax paid on intra-state supply, subsequently, held to be inter-state supply and vice versa
  • Refund of any other eligible amount.

In the present article, we will discuss briefly provisions governing refund available on excess GST paid.

Eligibility criteria for claiming GST refund of excess GST paid

GST refund application

Following are some of the basic eligibility criteria which the applicant needs to satisfy, before filing a GST refund application for excess of GST paid-

1

Type of applicant

The person registered under any of the following categories are eligible to claim a refund of excess tax paid-

  • Normal taxable person;
  • Casual taxable person; or
  • Non-resident taxable person.

2

Filing of GST returns

The applicant, applying for a refund of excess tax paid, should have duly and regularly filed all the requisite GST returns.

3

Amount of refund claim

The total amount of the refund claim should be more than INR 1,000.

Form and time period within which the GST refund claim should be filed

The applicant is required to file Form GST RFD-01 for claiming a refund of excess tax paid.

Such a refund application is to be filed within a period of two years from the date of payment of tax.

Steps for filing the online refund application for excess GST paid-

GST refund Application

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The applicant willing to file an online refund application in Form GST RFD-01 for claiming refund of excess GST is required to follow the below steps-

Step 1 : Go to site https://www.gst.gov.in/.

STEP 2 – Click the ‘Login’ icon on the right-hand side.

STEP 3 – Enter appropriate ‘Username’, ‘Password’ and type the characters in the image.

STEP 4 – Click ‘LOGIN’.

STEP 5 – Navigate the following path- Services > Refunds > Application for Refund.

STEP 6 – Select the refund type – ‘Excess payment of tax’.

STEP 7 – Select relevant ‘Financial Year’ and relevant ‘Month’ from the drop-down list.

STEP 8 – Click ‘Create Refund Application’. Accordingly, the refund application in Form GST RFD-01 will be displayed.

STEP 9 – Enter the details of excess ‘Integrated Tax’, ‘Central Tax’, ‘State/ UT Tax’ and/ or ‘Cess’ paid in the table available.

STEP 10 – Select the Bank Account Number from the drop-down list.

STEP 11 – Select ‘Add Documents’ to attach all the supporting documents.

STEP 12 – Click ‘SAVE’.

STEP 13Click on ‘Undertaking & Self-declaration’ and ‘Proceed’.

STEP 14 – Select the ‘Authorized Signatory’ from the drop-down list and submit the same using EVC or DSC.

Once the refund application is successfully filled, the Application Reference Number (i.e., ARN) will be generated

GST refund: Online filing of the statement, declaration and undertaking-

Online filing

While filing an application in Form GST RFD-01 for claiming refund of excess payment of tax, the applicant is required to online furnish the following statement, declaration and undertaking-

  • Statement – Statement 7 under rule 89(2)(k) reflecting details of the amount of refund claim on account of excess payment of tax.
  • Undertaking – Undertaking to pay back the refund amount on account of non-compliance with provisions of section 16(2)(c) and section 42(2).
  • Self-declaration – Self-declaration under rule 89(2)(l) if the amount of refund claim doesn’t exceed INR 2 Lakhs.
  • Certificate – Certificate by a Chartered Accountant or a Cost Accountant under rule 89(2)(m) if the amount of refund claim exceeds INR 2 Lakhs.
  • Processing of GST refund application

    The application for refund of excess tax paid will be processed in the following manner-

    1. If the application/ refund claim is in order-

    • The proper officer will issue a refund order sanctioning the refund in Form GST RFD-06.
    • Accordingly, the payment advice will be issued in Form GST RFD-05

    2. If the application is defective or the refund claim is not admissible

  • The deficiencies in the refund application will be pointed out by the proper officer in Form GST RFD-03.
  • In case the proper officer is of the opinion that the refund claimed is not admissible, then, the officer will issue a notice in Form GST RFD-08.
  • Based on the reply, if any, from the applicant, the proper officer will pass the order (accepting or rejecting the refund application) in Form GST RFD-06.
  • Steps to track the status of the GST refund application filed-

    Excess payement

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    Post-filing of  refund application, the applicant can track the status of the same by following the below steps-

    STEP 1 – Visit site https://www.gst.gov.in/.

    STEP 2 – Click ‘Login’ and submit the following login credentials-

    • Username,
    • Password, and
    • Type the characters as shown in the image.

    STEP 3 – Navigate the following path- Services > Refunds > Track Application Status.

    STEP 4 – Select ‘Filing Year’ or ‘ARN’.

    STEP 5 – If ‘Filing Year’ is selected, select the year from the drop-down list. However, if ARN is selected, enter the appropriate ARN.

    STEP 6 – Click ‘SEARCH’.

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    CA Poonam Gandhi

    About the author

    Poonam Gandhi is a Chartered Accountant and a Lawyer, with practical experience of 9+ years in the field of Indirect Taxation.

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