CBEC announces Officer Interface on Customs EDI system to reduce refund related error

New Delhi, Feb 28 (KNN) In the aftermath of the stuck refunds due to different reasons including the errors while filing, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) announced introducing officer interface on the Customs EDI system through for rectification and sanction.

“Recognizing that invoice mis-match has been the major reason why the refunds have been held, it has been decided to provide an alternative mechanism to give exporters an opportunity to rectify such errors committed in the initial stages”, CBEC said In a notification.

The notification further explain that the step envisages an officer interface on the Customs EDI System through which a Customs officer can verify the information furnished in GSTN and Customs EDI system and sanction refund in those cases where invoice details provided in GSTR 1/ Table 6A are correct though the said details provided in the shipping bill were at variance.

It is pertinent to note that refund claims would be processed in only those cases where the error code is mentioned as SB005, CBEC said

Further, it may also be noted that all refunds shall continue to be credited electronically through the PFMS system, and no manual payment / cheque should be issued, the notification added.

CBEC also instructed that the Custom Houses may open a dedicated cell and email address for the purpose of IGST refund. (KNN/ DA)