In line with the commitment of Government to liquidate all pending GST refunds filed till 30th April, 2018, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has successfully concluded the 2nd Special Refund Fortnight extended from 31st May, 2018 to 16th June, 2018.

By the end of 16th June, 2018, ₹ 6,087 crore IGST refund has been sanctioned in the refund fortnight. The interesting facts during the second fortnight are (i) about 1,68,191 shipping bills have been processed (ii) IGST refund claims of about 9,293 exporters have been sanctioned including about 3500 new exporters, whose refunds had been held up, have got their refund sanctioned.

During the period, all field formations of CBIC and States, once again worked hard to provide refund relief to the exporters. Special refund cells manned by experienced staff were put in place throughout the country. Exporter awareness campaigns using both print media and social media were carried out so that the benefit could be extended to maximum exporters. All field formations were tasked to go the extra mile in order to facilitate the sanctioning of refunds. Issues which threw new challenges while sanctioning of refunds were clarified by circulars, advisories etc.

The amount of RFD-01A refund claims received by the Centre as on 30th April, 2018 was ₹ 9,816 crores. The target for the Special Refund Fortnight was to dispose off this amount. During the refund fortnight, an amount of ₹ 1,548 crores was sanctioned by the Centre and ₹ 2,290 crores by the States. This takes the amount of RFD-01A refund claims disposed, as on 16.06.2018, by the Centre to ₹ 10,824 crores and by the States to ₹ 7,287 crores. Thus, the total amount of RFD-01A claims disposed off stands at ₹ 18,111 crores.

In all, ₹ 21,142 crore (IGST refunds), ₹ 9,923 crore (RFD-01A refund by CBIC) and ₹ 6,997 crore (RFD-01A refund by States) all totaling ₹ 38,062 crore has been sanctioned till 16th June, 2018. Considering the amount of rejected claims, the total IGST disposed is ₹ 23,437 Crore, RFD-01A (by CBIC) is ₹ 10,824 crore, RFD-01A (by States) is ₹ 7, 287 crore and total GST refund disposed till 16th June, 2018 stands ​at ​Rs 41,548 crore.

The momentum gained during this fortnight would be carried on by all formations where refunds are still pending. The CBIC is dedicated to sanction all the legitimate refund claims of exporters. Efforts are being made to resolve those issues which are still pending. However, the exporters need to ensure that the correct procedure of filing returns, giving accurate information in Shipping Bill and submitting RFD 01A application forms to the jurisdictional formations are followed for quick disbursal of their refund claims.

GST refund processing accelerated through a special administrative fortnight, focusing on sanctioning claims and exporter compliance. CBIC conducted a Special Refund Fortnight to expedite disposal of pending GST refunds, activating special refund cells, issuing clarifications, and carrying out exporter outreach. Centre and State field formations processed shipping bills and sanctioned IGST and RFD 01A claims while accounting for rejected claims; exporters were reminded to follow correct filing procedures, provide accurate Shipping Bill information, and submit RFD 01A applications to jurisdictional offices for prompt disbursal.