Mismatch in govt GST export refund numbers

The latest figures from the government on claims filed by exporters for refunds under the goods and services tax (GST) grossly contradicts its earlier statement of facts in this regard.

At the end of November 2017, the finance ministry had said the cumulative total of GST refund claims from shippers from July 1 roll-out of the new tax till end-October was ~65 billion. And, in a mid-January letter to the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), the ministry has stated the total of such refund claims from July 1 till December 31 was ~55 billion — of which ~19.23 billion had been paid. The communication has been reviewed by Business Standard.

Asked to explain how a cumulative figure could melt in this manner, despite the addition of claims for November and December, a senior Finance Ministry official said,

“At this juncture, it cannot be commented on.”

Ajay Sahai, director-general of

FIEO, said: “There is no consistency in the figures being released.”

The other issue is, of course, the charge that the governments, Union and states, continue to sit on the bulk of the claims, crippling the working capital needs of the trade.

Industry estimates had earlier placed the tax refunds to be released by the Centre and state governments at ~500 billion. State governments have not refunded their component of taxes under the Duty Drawback Scheme, said Sahai.

“Exporters are in the dark about their pending claims,” FIEO President Ganesh Kumar Gupta said. “The response given by the Customs authorities is inadequate. It is essential that a facility to view the status of refund be provided, so that exporters are aware of the stage of refund and deficiency, if any.”

The finance ministry official said the delay was because claims were not being filed using the appropriate forms and matching shipping bills. To this, exporters said that problems in filing claims electronic have persisted as the authorities were asking for declarations that were difficult to provide.