Attention is invited to sub-section (2) of section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (hereinafter referred to as “CGST Act”) which provides that the Commissioner may review any decision or order, including an order of refund, with respect to its legality or propriety and he may direct any officer subordinate to him to file an appeal against the said decision or order within 6 months of the date of communication of the said decision or order. Reference is further drawn to entry against the subject pre-audit in table under para 3.3 of the Circular 17 /17/2017-GST dated 15.11.2017 wherein it has been stated that pre-audit of refund orders is not required to be carried out but the post-audit of the refund orders may, however, continue on the basis of extant guidelines.
Subsequently, Board has been receiving reports of different practices being followed by the field formations regarding sanction, review and post-audit of refund claims. In certain Commissionerates, speaking order is being issued in respect of all refund claims, whereas in others, speaking orders are not being issued if the refund is sanctioned in full. Similarly, in case of review and post-audit, different practices are being followed by the field formations. The matter has been examined with the twin purpose of ensuring uniformity in procedure and enabling effective monitoring of sanction of refund claims in order to safeguard interest of revenue. Accordingly, the Board hereby issues the following instructions/guidelines for sanction, post-audit and review of refunds:
2.1 Sanction of Refund
2.1.1 Detailed guidelines for processing of refund claims in GST have been issued by the Board vide Circular No. 17/17/2017 -GST dated 15.11.2017 (for manual processing of refunds) and Circular No. 125/44/2019-GST dated 18.11.2019 (for electronic filing and online processing of refunds) to ensure uniformity in processing of refund claims. In both of these Circulars, it has been mentioned that the proper officer shall follow the principle of natural justice before taking the final decision with regard to refund claim. Principle of natural justice inter-alia provides that a detailed speaking order needs to be issued providing a basis for sanction/rejection of refund. Therefore, while passing the refund sanction order in FORM GST RFD-06, the proper officer should also upload a detailed speaking order along with refund sanction order in FORM GST RFD-06. In order to ensure uniformity in issuance of such speaking order, it is clarified that such speaking order should inter alia contain the following details:
A. Details for all category of refund claims :
a) The period for which refund claim has been filed, date of filing & the category in which refund has been claimed.
b) Whether it has been checked that refund claim for the same period has not been filed in the same category including any claim filed under ‘Any Other’ Category.
c) Details of Deficiency Memo, if any, in FORM GST RFD-03 issued in respect of the said refund claim previously.
d) Whether the refund claim has been filed within limitation of time, as provided under CGST Act and Rules thereof, including in the cases, where Deficiency Memo in FORM GST RFD-03 had been issued previously.
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