Single refund application for multiple financial years 

Bunching of refund claims across multiple financial year now enabled on GST Portal in FORM GST RFD-01.

It is to be noted that the said relief was originally announced by CBIC on 31.03.2020 vide Circular No.135/2020, however the same was pending to be implemented on GST Portal. Now this facility has been implemented on portal.

What was Circular No. 135/2020?

The restriction on clubbing of tax periods across different financial years was put in vide para 8 of Master Circular on Refunds No. 125/44/2019-GST dated 18.11.2019.

Hon’ble Delhi High Court in Order dated 21.01.2020, in the case of M/s Pitambra Books Pvt Ltd, has stayed the rigour of paragraph 8 of Circular No. 125/44/2019-GST dated 18.11.2019 and has also directed the Government to either open the online portal so as to enable the petitioner to file the tax refund electronically, or to accept the same manually within 4 weeks from the Order. Hon’ble Delhi High Court has observed that the Circulars can supplant but not supplement the law. Circulars might mitigate rigours of law by granting administrative relief beyond relevant provisions of the statute, however, Central Government is not empowered to withdraw benefits or impose stricter conditions than postulated by the law. 

Further, same issue has been raised in various other representations also, especially those received from the merchant exporters wherein merchant exporters have received the supplies of goods in the last quarter of a Financial Year and have made exports in the next Financial Year i.e. from April onwards. The restriction imposed vide para 8 of the master refund circular prohibits the refund of ITC accrued in such cases as well. 

On perusal of the provisions under sub-section (3) of section 16 of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and sub-section (3) of section 54 of the CGST Act, there appears no bar in claiming refund by clubbing different months across successive Financial Years. 

The issue has been examined and it has been decided to remove the restriction on clubbing of tax periods across Financial Years. Accordingly, circular No. 125/44/2019-GST dated 18.11.2019 stands modified to that extent i.e. the restriction on bunching of refund claims across financial years shall not apply.

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