GST RFD-01/RFD-01A

Know All About GST RFD-01/RFD-01A

Under the GST law, new refund functionalities have been introduced to facilitate the taxpayers to file all their refund applications. One such form is GST RFD 01. When GST was introduced in 2017, a temporary functionality in form GST RFD-01A was implemented. GST RFD 01(online) replaces GST RFD-01A (manual). In this article, we shall discuss the following:

What Is GST RFD-01A And GST RFD-01?

GST RFD-01A was a provisional form introduced under the GST law. Initially, Taxpayers were required to file the refund application (in Form GST RFD-01A) on the GST portal, take a printout of it and submit the form physically to the jurisdictional officer along with all the supporting documents. After that, the further processing of the refund application was also done manually. However, Circular No. 125/44/2019 notified that from 26 September 2019, all procedures: from the filing of refund application to processing the same should be carried out electronically. GST RFD 01 Form is the online form that was introduced to assist taxpayers to apply for the refund of tax, interest, penalty, fees, or any other amount electronically (as per Rule 89 (1) of CGST Rules 2017).

Note: Form GST RFD 01A has been disabled on the common portal. However, taxpayers can still see the status of the old GST RFD-01A forms along with the new forms on the portal.

Which Refunds Can Be Filed Through GST RFD-01?

The following refunds can be applied through Form GST RFD-01:

• Refund of unutilised Input Tax Credit (ITC) on account of ‘exports without payment of tax’
• Refund of tax paid on ‘export of services with payment of tax’
• Refund of unutilised ITC on account of supplies made to ‘SEZ Unit/SEZ Developer without payment of tax’
• Refund of tax paid on supplies made to ‘SEZ Unit/SEZ Developer with payment of tax’
• Refund of unutilised ITC on account of accumulation due to Inverted Tax Structure (i.e., where the rate of tax on inputs purchased is more than the rate of tax on outward supplies)
• Refund to supplier/recipient of tax paid on deemed export supplies
• Refund of excess balance in the electronic cash ledger
• Refund of excess payment of tax
• Refund of tax paid on an intra-state supply which is subsequently held to be inter-state supply and vice versa.
• Refund on account of assessment/provisional assessment/appeal/any other order
• Refund on account of any other reason.

What Are The Prerequisites For Filing RFD-01 in GST?

Points to be noted while filing RFD 01 in GST are:

• The minimum amount of refund that can be applied through GST RFD-01 is INR 1000. This limit is applied for each tax head separately and not cumulatively.
• While applying for a refund (by filing Form GST RFD-01), a taxpayer can only select one bank account from the list of bank accounts provided by the taxpayer at the time of registration (in Form GST REG-01).
• A taxpayer can apply for a refund only if Form GSTR-1 and Form GSTR-3B for a month/quarter applicable are filed on or before the due date. If the refund application is filed by a composition Taxpayer, Input Service Distributor or a non-resident Taxpayer, furnishing of Form GSTR-1 and Form GSTR-3B is not necessary. Such taxpayers are required to file Form GSTR-4 (along with Form GST CMP-08), Form GSTR-6 or Form GSTR-5, as applicable, on or before the due date.
• A taxpayer can club and file a refund claim for a month/quarter or successive months/quarters. However, the application cannot be spread across multiple financial years.
• Taxpayers must file the refund applications chronologically. For, g. if a refund application for May 2020 is already filed, then the taxpayer cannot file a refund application for April 2020.
• When Form GST RFD-01 is filed, an ARN is generated. The date on this ARN is considered as the date of filing of the refund application.
• There may be instances where the assessing officer notes deficiencies, and a deficiency memo is issued. The taxpayer is required to file a fresh application for the same period after rectifying the deficiencies. A fresh ARN is generated for the new application.

What Are The Steps In Filing Form GST RFD-01?

The following steps are to be followed in filing Form GST RFD-01:

• Log in to the GST portal.
• Go to the ‘Refund’ tab and select ‘Application for Refund.’
• Select the type of refund as described above and create a refund application.
• Update the details as asked in the application.
• Select the bank account to which refund is to be credited.
• Attach supporting documents.
• File the application and sign through DSC or EVC

Once the application is successfully signed, an ARN is generated. The GST portal has manuals for each type of refund application and can be found here under ‘Applying for Refund Application in Form GST RFD-01’. Annexure A of the circular (Page 26-28) provides a comprehensive list of supporting documents that can be submitted by taxpayers for each type of refund application. It has been clarified that the taxpayer is not required to provide any other documents for the refund application at a later stage. The refund application filed will be electronically transferred to the jurisdictional officer who can view it on their system. The officer has 15 days from the date of the ARN to issue an acknowledgement or a deficiency memo. This is also issued electronically to the taxpayer.

How Is Refund Calculated?

In most cases, the refund of GST, Interest or any cess, is paid as per the relevant tax invoice. However, when invoice details are amended, the refund is allowed as per a calculation, based on the amended value. Rule 89 of the CGST Rules, 2017, prescribes for formulae for calculating the refund:

• Instances where Zero-Rated supplies are made without tax payment by executing Letter of Undertaking/Bond:

Net ITC x Turnover of zero-rated supply of goods and services

Adjusted Total Turnover

Where:

• • Net ITC is the Input tax credit availed on input goods and services during the relevant period.
  • Turnover of zero-rated supply of goods and services is the value of supply (during the relevant period) made without the payment of tax by executing Letter of Undertaking/bond for the applicable

• • Adjusted total turnover is the Total Turnover in a State/Union territory, excluding the value of exempt supplies of goods and services for the relevant period.
• In the case of Inverted Duty Structure:

An inverted duty means the rate of tax on Inward supplies exceeds the rate of tax on outward supplies of goods and services.

[Net ITC x (Turnover of inverted rated supply of Goods and Services / Adjusted Total Turnover)] - Output Tax Payable on Inverted rated supply of Goods and Services

Where:

• • Net ITC is the Input tax credit availed on the input goods and services used in the supply of inverted rated goods and services during the relevant period.
  • Turnover of inverted rated supply of goods and services is the supply of goods and services that fall under the Inverted rated category.
  • Adjusted total turnover is the Total Turnover in a State/Union territory, excluding the value of exempt supplies of goods and services for the relevant period.
  • Output tax payable on the inverted rated supply of goods is the tax liability for the relevant period payable on the inverted rated supply of goods.