New Delhi, Nov 29 (KNN) According to a government release the refund for the months of August, September and October 2017 are being initiated for those exporters who have filed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) returns correctly. While the government issued the notification earlier today, the Micro Small and Medium Enterprise exporters have raised concerns over the ambiguity prevailing with regard to refunds.

In an attempt to defend the prevailing delays, the government said that the discrepancies related to  incorrect Shipping Bill number in GSTR1, mis-match of invoice number and IGST amount paid, wrong bank account etc. have led to blockage in the refund process.

The government stated that the refund on IGST paid for the period of July to October 2017 on exported items amount to Rs. 6,500 crore and the quantum of refund of unutilized credit on inputs or input services, as per the RFD 01A applications filed on GSTN portal, is to the tune of Rs. 30 crore.

The prerequisites for  refund sanction of IGST paid are filing of GSTR 3 B ,table 6A of GSTR 1 on the GSTN portal and Shipping Bill(s) on Customs EDI System by the exporter.

Talking to KNN, Pankaj Bansal, Director of TMA International said that the new notifications are being released by the government  now and then but  the exporters have been suffering due to loss of working capital caused by lack of refund.

The refund has been stuck for around four months now and the exporters have also foregone the interest on the refund amount.

He further said that even if one files return by 4 December which is the last date to file and correct the return, the government has not notified when the refund would be transferred into the account of exporters which has led to uncertainties.

He added that the refund process should be made clear and streamlined instead of false promises by the government. (With PIB inputs) (KNN/AG)