Back in July, a FICCI survey revealed that 59% of the enterprises
surveyed were not satisfied with the capability of the Goods and
Services Tax Network (GSTN) portal. In fact, a whopping 96% had felt
that it needed improvement. Paying heed to public demand portal now
boasts an added functionality where refunds are concerned.
"Facility
to claim refund on account of excess payment of tax has been enabled on
GST Portal for the
taxpayers," the entity announced today. GSTN is a
non-profit, non-government company that provides IT infrastructure and
services to taxpayers, the Central and State Governments and other
stakeholders for implementation of the Goods and Services Tax.
This
development comes a day after Taxscan Media reported that the portal
introduced two new features: The facility to upload statement 4 for
refund on account of supplies made to SEZ unit/SEZ Developer, with
payment of tax, and the facility for amendment in Registration of Core
fields.
So who is eligible to file refund applications on grounds
of excess payment of tax? According to the portal, normal and casual
taxpayers filing Form GSTR-3B, composite taxpayers filing Form GSTR-4
and Non-Resident taxpayers filing Form GSTR-5 can file refund
applications for amounts of Rs 1,000 or more under the newly-introduced
facility.
The user manual on the portal outlines how taxpayers
can file an application for refund on account of excess payment of tax.
Here's what you need to do:
1. Visit the official GST site
2. On the GST home page, click the Services > Refunds > Application for the refund command
3. When the 'select the refund type' page is displayed, pick the 'excess payment of tax' option
4.
Select the financial year and month for which application has to be
filed from the drop-down lists and click the 'create' button
5.
The GST RFD-01A - Excess payment of tax page will be displayed. Fill in
the relevant tax details and submit your bank account details then click
the 'save' option.
6. Click the 'preview' button to download the form in PDF format.
7. Tick the Undertaking and Self-Declaration checkboxes and click on the 'proceed' button
8.
Click the 'File with DSC' or 'File with EVC' buttons. If you pick the
former, just click on 'proceed', select the certificate and click the
'sign' button. The Application Reference Number (ARN) receipt will be
displayed. Else, in the case of EVC, enter the OTP sent to the email
address and mobile number of the Authorized Signatory registered at the
GST Portal and click the 'verify' button. The success message is
displayed and status is changed to 'submitted'. The ARN receipt is then
downloaded and a copy is sent to your registered email address and
mobile phone number.
Once the ARN is generated, the refund
application would be assigned to Jurisdictional Refund Processing
Officers for scrutiny following which the refund will be disbursed.
Taxpayers can track the status of refund application using track status
functionality.