E-filing for GST to expedite refunds

An electronic application system would be introduced shortly to ease and speed up the process to file for refunds, said Mr Bankey Behari Agrawal, chief commissioner, Central GST & Customs, Hyderabad.

Cautioning consumers to verify the authenticity of retailers before paying GST on bills, Mr Agarwal said several composite dealers were illegally charging GST from consumers.

“We will very soon introduce electronic filing for refunds. This will no doubt benefit 3.5 lakh GST assessees in Telangana state. For this, back-end matching system should be ready,” Mr Agrawal told the media on the sidelines of an open house meet on GST organised by FTAPCCI here on Saturday.

The four commissionerates of GST in the state carried out two special drives on refunds in March and June, accepting physical claims. After filing online, assesses need to submit supporting documents physically to the officials.

“After accepting physical claims, we completed 90 per cent of refunds in just seven days,” Mr Agarwal said.

Assessees with less than `1.5 crore turnover are eligible for the composition scheme. Composition dealers in manufacturing have to pay 2 per cent of their turnover to the GST authority and 1 per cent for traders, he said.

Several retail shops and service providers are charging GST from consumers. Those who opt for the composition scheme cannot charge GST. he added.

Several retail shops and service providers are charging GST from consumers. Those who opt for the composition scheme cannot charge GST.