Tax Exemption, Refund Relief, E-Wallet For Exporters Under GST

Exporters will get quicker refunds and an e-wallet facility as the Goods and Services Tax Council eased rules to provide relief amid worries that a prolonged disruption could hurt the sector.

Exporters will get refunds for July by October 10 and for August by October 18, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced after the 22nd meeting of the Council today. They will also get an e-wallet with a notional advance credit, preferably by April 1, for refunds.

Exporters get a refund of taxes paid on inputs and shipments. They were worried that working capital could remain stuck for long after the government extended the deadline to file returns, delaying refunds.

The Council also decided that exporters will pay a nominal Integrated GST rate of 0.1 percent on merchant exports till March 31.

The move will come as a “big relief” for exporters, said Amit Goyal, president of the Confederation of Apparel Exporters.

No tax was payable at the time of exports in the pre-GST regime. The nationwide tax brought in a levy, which exporters can claim as refund while filing returns.

Expediting post GST refunds, allowing Integrated GST exemption under Advance Authorization and Export Promotion Capital Goods schemes and to Export Oriented Units until 31 March 2018 is a huge relief for exporters, Harpreet Singh, an indirect tax partner at KPMG India said.

With free flow of credits, lesser supply chain bottlenecks, better movement of goods and this new announcement, it would not be a surprise to see exports going uphill, he added.

Read all the highlights of the GST Council's decisions here.