CBIC clears GST claim worth Rs10,700cr; logs over 1.86 lakh refund in customs duty

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes (CBIC) announced that the department is committed to supporting Goods and Services Tax (GST) taxpayers and traders. The department through their twitter account revealed that CBIC officers have cleared GST and customs duty refund claims to the tune of Rs10,700cr between April 08-April 23, 2020. Further, under their 'Special Refund and Drawback Disposal Drive', the department has managed to clear about 1.07 lakh GST and IGST claim worth Rs9,818.12cr. In the meantime, more than 1.86 lakh customs and duty drawback refunds were also processed aggregating to Rs915.56cr. CBIC tweeted saying, "CBIC is committed to help GST Taxpayers/Exim Trade during COVID19." It added, "Expeditious sanction of refunds during Special Refund Drive provides relief to trade, especially MSMEs." Amid Covid-19 outbreak, the CBIC had earlier guided officers in giving some breather to industries, by avoiding to ask for physical submission of GST and customs duty claim but instead motivate for official email route for all communications. Also, the decision for processing pending refund claims has been taken for giving immediate relief to these taxpayers struggling in this pandemic. Generally, the GST law takes a total of 60 days for disposing of refund claims without any liability for paying interest. In early April of this year, the Finance Ministry had intimated the department for providing relief in regards to refund claims. Such a move was expected to benefit approximately 1 lakh business entities, including MSME.