Manual filing and processing of refund claims on account of inverted duty structure, deemed exports and excess balance in electronic cash ledger. Rescinded vide Circular No. 125/44/2019 – GST dated 18.11.2019.

Circular No.: 24/24/2017-GST
Date of Circular: 21st December 2017
Relevant Sections and Rules:

• Central GST Act, 2017:
  • Section 54(3): Refund of unutilized ITC
  • Section 147: Deemed exports
• CGST Rules, 2017:
  • Rule 89: Refund procedure
  • Rule 91(2): Provisional refund
• Relevant Notifications:
  • Notification Nos. 40 & 41/2017 dated 23.10.2017 (deemed exports)
  • Notification Nos. 48 & 49/2017 dated 18.10.2017 (deemed exports)
  • Notification No. 57/2017-Central Tax dated 15.11.2017

Summary of Circular:

This circular extends the manual filing and processing of refund claims to additional refund categories due to the non-availability of the online refund module, until further notice.

1. Manual Filing Applicable To:
   • Refund of unutilized ITC due to inverted duty structure
   • Refund of tax on deemed export supplies
   • Refund of excess balance in the electronic cash ledger
2. Filing Instructions and Forms:
   • Refunds to be filed monthly in FORM GST RFD-01A, except for small taxpayers (turnover ≤ ₹1.5 Cr) opting for quarterly GSTR-1, who can file quarterly.
   • Refunds can be filed only after GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B are submitted.
   • Applicants must furnish an undertaking that refund shall be returned with interest if later found inadmissible.
3. Inverted Duty Structure Refund:
   • Statement 1 and Statement 1A of RFD-01A must be submitted manually with refund details and invoice information.
4. Deemed Exports Refund:
   • Statement 5B required.
   • Undertakings must be provided by the recipient (if supplier is claiming refund) or supplier (if recipient is claiming refund) declaring that the other party will not claim ITC or refund.
5. Processing and Payment Coordination:
   • Refund orders must be communicated between Centre and State nodal officers via email (RFD-04, RFD-06, ARN, RFD-01A).
   • Actual payment is to be made by respective tax authority (Central/State) via RFD-05 and sent to PAO for disbursal.
6. Additional Guidelines:
   • Refund of cash ledger balance is permitted via RFD-01A.
   • Refund of ITC under Section 54(3)(ii) is not allowed if drawback of all GST taxes has been claimed.
   • Rejected amounts to be re-credited to credit ledger through RFD-1B (until PMT-03 becomes available).
   • Refund timelines under Section 54(7) and Rule 91(2) must be strictly adhered to.

Source: Circular No.: 24/24/2017-GST