Refund of GST paid (which should not have been paid)

[Tanmay Bhardwaj]

Hi Experts,

Need you opinion on following:

We are a liaison office of foreign establishment. In GST, an establishment in India (liaison office) and an establishment outside India (head office) of establishment, are treated as establishment of distinct persons in terms of Explanation 1 to Section 8 of the IGST Act. Accordingly, service provided by liaison office to head office are excluded from the scope of “export of services” by virtue of sub-clause (v) in definition of ”export of services” provided in Section 2(6) of the IGST Act. Accordingly, we paid GST on reimbursement received from our HO.

Recently, Rajasthan Authority for Advance Ruling in case of Habufa Meubelen B.V. Indian Liaison Office 2018 (7) TMI 883 - AUTHORITY FOR ADVANCE RULING - RAJASTHAN held that no GST is required to be paid on reimbursement received by Liaison office from HO.

In view of the above, can we file refund of the GST already paid and if yes, under which section of CGST Act?

Thank you in advance for your help.

AI Summary

Liaison Office Seeks GST Refund Under Section 54 of CGST Act; Experts Say Ruling Applies Only to Applicant. A liaison office of a foreign establishment in India sought advice on obtaining a refund for GST paid on reimbursements from its head office, following a ruling by the Rajasthan Authority for Advance Ruling that such GST is not required. Experts advised that the ruling applies only to the applicant and not to other parties. They suggested that the liaison office could seek a refund under Section 54 of the CGST Act, 2017, but emphasized that the burden of proof lies with the claimant to demonstrate that the tax was not payable.