PMO Takes on Exporters' Plea Regarding GST

SMEStreet Edit Desk

11 Mar 2018 04:44 IST

New Update

Narendra Modi, Arun Jaitley, PMO, GST Council, GST

Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has called top officials from the finance and commerce ministries on March 12 to enable speedy clearance of exporters’ refunds under Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Exporters have been grappling with working capital constraints due to delay in refunds pertaining to Integrated GST (IGST) as well as input tax credit (ITC) on outbound shipments.

The commerce ministry has, time and again, flagged concerns regarding the delayed payments and has been working with the finance ministry to set up a swift refund mechanism.

Also Read SMEStreet Story on Upcoming GST Council Meeting

While exporters claim that only 10 percent refunds have been made by the government for ITC and 30 percent for IGST, according to the finance ministry, the central board of excise and customs (CBEC) has sanctioned refunds for 88.7 percent of the completed applications.

In an article in MoneyControl it is mentioned that out of 5,400 cases, provisional refunds (for ITC) for only 55 applications were not sanctioned, a senior finance ministry official quoted. Till now the ministry has refunded Rs 3,700 crore as compared with the Rs 4,172 crore claimed under completed applications.

While tax officials blame exporters for a delay in refunds for incorrectly filled details in the shipping bill or mismatch in GST returns, exporters have a different story to tell. Exporters point out the complex processes and lack of clarity on certain procedures such as the absence of a specific set of documents lead to rejection of their refund claims.

GST GST Council exporters PMO