The CBIC has allowed clearance of GST refunds based on PAN of exporters if such refunds are held up due to mismatch in GSTIN mentioned in shipping bill and return forms.
As much as Rs 14,000 crore worth of refunds due to exporters are stuck because of various reasons and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) is organising a special refund fortnight from May 31 to June 14 to fast-track clearance of dues.
In a circular to the field officers, the CBIC has said the refund should be cleared if the Permanent Account Number (PAN) mentioned in shipping bill and returns form GSTR-3B/GSTR-1 is same.
Mismatch in GST identification number (GSTIN) happens when the entity filing shipping bills is a registered office and the entity which has paid the Integrated GST (IGST) is a manufacturing unit.
The CBIC said that the entity claiming refund would have to give an undertaking that it will “not claim any refund or any benefit of the amount of IGST so paid”.
It said the DG Systems have developed correction tool for sanction of refund in cases where PAN provided in the shipping bill is the same as in the return forms under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.
AMRG & Associates Partner Rajat Mohan said the board has come out with a methodology whereby taxpayer would be sanctioned a refund even in case where a different registered taxpayer files shipping bill than from a registered taxpayer who has undertaken such export supply, provided both the entities are functioning under the same PAN.
Tax department agrees that pending refunds are a liability which needs to be paid off and thereby administration is putting in best efforts to resolve incongruities in handing out such refunds,” Mohan said.
The CBIC has also extended the facility for manual interface to correct the mismatch in invoice details in shipping bills and GST returns.
Exporters can opt for manual correction for shipping bills filed till April 30, 2018.
“Keeping in view the difficulties faced by the exporters in respect of SB005 errors (mismatch in invoice details in shipping bill and returns), Board has decided to extend the facility of officer interface to shipping bills filed up to April 30. However, the exporters are advised to align their export invoices submitted to Customs and GST authorities for smooth processing of refund claims,” the CBIC said.

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