Circular No.: 104/23/2019-GST
Date of Circular: 28th June 2019
Relevant Sections and Rules:
- CGST Act, 2017:
- Section 168(1): Power to issue instructions
- Reference Circulars:
- Circular No. 01/2017 dated 20.09.2017 – Guidelines on taxpayer division
- Circular No. 79/53/2018-GST dated 31.12.2018 – Refund application procedure
Summary of Circular:
This circular provides clarification for cases where refund applications (FORM GST RFD-01A) are electronically transferred to the wrong tax authority (Centre/State) due to mapping errors on the GST common portal.
- Issue Identified:
- Due to incomplete updates on the GST portal about taxpayer assignments, some taxpayers are mapped to the wrong jurisdiction.
- Example: A taxpayer assigned to the Central tax authority is mapped under State authority on the portal, causing refund applications to go to the wrong officer.
- Change in Refund Filing Protocol:
- Earlier (before 31.12.2018): Refunds required physical submission at jurisdictional office.
- Post Circular 79/53/2018-GST: Refunds are processed electronically, and forwarded by the portal to the assigned tax authority.
- Problem with Re-assignment:
- As per Para 2(e) of Circular 79/53/2018-GST, refund applications wrongly transferred were to be electronically re-assigned to the correct officer.
- However, this re-assignment functionality is not yet available on the common portal.
- Clarification and Instruction:
- To prevent delay, the tax authority (Central or State) to whom the refund application is wrongly transferred should process the refund.
- Once processed, the authority must inform the GST portal team to update the taxpayer mapping to prevent recurrence.
- Implementation:
- All field officers are directed to issue trade notices to publicize this clarification.
- Any implementation difficulties should be reported to the Board.
Source: Circular No.: 104/23/2019-GST
