GST

Major Update in GST Refund Filing Process

Major Update in GST Refund Fil­ing Process

Effec­tive May 8, 2025 The Goods and Ser­vices Tax Net­work (GSTN) has made some impor­tant and user-friend­ly changes in the way refunds can be filed under cer­tain cat­e­gories. These changes aim to sim­pli­fy the process and reduce errors and delays.

Cat­e­gories Cov­ered by the Update

The new process applies to the fol­low­ing three refund categories:

  1. Export of Ser­vices with Pay­ment of Tax
  2. Sup­plies Made to SEZ Unit/Developer with Pay­ment of Tax
  3. Refund by Sup­pli­er of Deemed Export

What’s Changed?

1. No More Need to Select ‘Tax Period’

Ear­li­er, tax­pay­ers had to select a spe­cif­ic “From” and “To” tax peri­od while fil­ing for a refund. Now, this step has been removed. You can direct­ly choose the refund cat­e­go­ry and click on “Cre­ate Refund Appli­ca­tion” to begin.

2. Returns Must Be Filed Up-To-Date

Make sure all your GST returns (like GSTR‑1 and GSTR-3B) are filed up to the date of refund appli­ca­tion. Oth­er­wise, your appli­ca­tion will not proceed.

3. From Tax Peri­od-Based to Invoice-Based Filing

Refund fil­ing is now based on invoic­es instead of tax peri­ods. You will now upload eli­gi­ble invoic­es direct­ly under the cor­rect statement:

  • State­ment 2 – For Export of Ser­vices with Pay­ment of Tax
  • State­ment 4 – For SEZ Sup­plies with Pay­ment of Tax
  • State­ment 5B – For Deemed Export refunds by Supplier

4. Invoic­es Will Be Locked

Once you upload invoic­es for a refund claim:

  • They will be locked and can­not be used for anoth­er refund claim.
  • They can only be unlocked if you with­draw the appli­ca­tion or a defi­cien­cy memo is issued.

Why This Is Helpful

  • The new sys­tem reduces mis­takes relat­ed to wrong tax peri­od selection.
  • It allows greater flex­i­bil­i­ty and quick­er refund appli­ca­tion filing.
  • It ensures that dupli­cate refund claims for the same invoic­es do not happen.

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