The Central Board of Indirect Taxes (CBIC) said that they sanctioned a total refund of Rs 19,708 crore which includes GST refund claims worth Rs 11,052 crore and customs, IGST and drawback claims worth Rs 8,656 crore between 08 April 2020 and 25 May 2020.
On 25 May 2020, CBIC tweeted that they are committed to ensuring the liquidity to GST taxpayers especially MSME sectors during the lockdown and announced that the 29,230 refund claims worth to Rs 11,052 crore have been dispersed between 08 April 2020 and 24 May 2020. CBIC also stated that these refunds were sanctioned while ensuring work from home.
On 26 May 2020, CBIC said that they have conducted a special refund and drawback disposal drive to benefit MSMEs/exporters during COVID-19. It also added that a total of 6.76 lakh refund claims worth of Rs 8,656 crore have been disbursed between 08 April 2020 and 25 May 2020. It also mentioned that the Indian Customs working 24×7 for ensuring speedy clearance of goods during COVID-19 pandemic situation.
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Even before the announcement of Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (ABA) on 08 April 2020, the Finance Ministry stated that all pending GST and custom refund dues will be cleared to provide relief to around 1 lakh business entities, including MSME during COVID-19. The CBIC estimated that the total returns would be approximately Rs 18,000 crore whereas the actual refunds amounted to Rs Rs 19,708 crore till 25 May 2020.
The CBIC had earlier issued guidelines to its field officers to use official email for all communication and to avoid asking for physical submission of documents from taxpayers who are claiming GST and customs refunds.
Usually, the GST Law provides 15 days for issuing acknowledgement or deficiency memo and a total of 60 days for disbursing refund claims without any liability to pay interest. However, the CBIC decided for speedy processing of pending refund claims to provide immediate relief to the taxpayers in this pandemic situation.
For any clarifications/feedback on the topic, please contact the writer at dvsr.anjaneyulu@cleartax.in
DVSR Anjaneyulu known as AJ, is a Chartered Accountant by profession. Loves to listening to music & spending time with family and friends.
