The Government has extended relief for exporters and suppliers to SEZ units/developers who faced difficulties in claiming GST refunds due to errors while filing GSTR-3B.
Certain registered taxpayers had mistakenly reported exports of services on payment of IGST and zero-rated supplies to SEZ units/developers under column 3.1(a) (outward taxable supplies) instead of column 3.1(b) (zero-rated supplies) in FORM GSTR-3B. Due to this error, they were unable to file refund applications in FORM GST RFD-01A because the GST portal validation system restricted refund claims to the amount declared under column 3.1(b).
Earlier, through Circular No. 45/19/2018-GST dated May 30, 2018, the government had allowed relief for the period from July 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018. Under this relaxation, refund claims were permitted up to the aggregate amount reported under columns 3.1(a), 3.1(b) and 3.1(c) of FORM GSTR-3B.
The government has now decided to extend this relief for tax periods up to June 30, 2019, enabling affected exporters and SEZ suppliers to file refund applications despite reporting errors. A corrigendum to Circular No. 45/19/2018-GST was issued on July 18, 2019 to formalise the extension.
Exporters and eligible taxpayers have been encouraged to avail the benefit of the extended relaxation.
