ICEGate or Indian Customs Electronic Commerce/Electronic Data Interchange (EC/EDI) Gateway is the provider of e-filing services for the importers, exporters and other trading partners in India. With ICEGate, the user can make E-payments, Track Document status at Customs EDI, Register for IPR, Verify IE Code, etc. making it an essential tool for traders and exporters in India.

The ICEGate portal facilitates the transmission of the export refund directly to the user’s bank account.

Transmission of export data to Customs designated portal

The details of the relevant export invoices in respect of export of goods contained in FORM GSTR-1 shall be transmitted electronically by the common portal to the system designated by the Customs and the said system shall electronically transmit to the common portal, a confirmation that the goods covered by the said invoices have been exported out of India. Details of export invoices are available at ICEGATE portal.

Provided that where the date for furnishing the details of outward supplies in FORM GSTR-1 for a tax period has been extended, then in exercise of the powers conferred under section 37 of the Act, the supplier shall furnish the details of information relating to exports as specified in Table 6A of FORM GSTR-1 after the return in FORM GSTR-3B has been furnished and the same shall be transmitted electronically by the common portal to the system designated by the Customs

Note that the Table 6A has to be furnished only after filing of Form GSTR-3B under the respective tax period.

Cautions to ensure transmission of Data to Customs designated Portal

1. Data Matching

To ensure that the GST System transmits the export invoice data, in case of export of goods with payment of IGST, to ICEGATE for refund, Exporters need to provide Complete and Correct Data while filing Table 6A of GSTR-1 as under:

• Invoice No. and Date (Tax invoice and not commercial invoice).
• Select from drop down list (WPAY- with payment of tax)/WOPAY-without payment of tax.
• Shipping Bill No. & Date. While using offline tool for GSTR 1, the date format is dd-mmm-yyyy e.g. 15th July 2017 will be written as 15-Jul-2017 and not like 15/07/2017.
• Six Digit Port Code should be mentioned correctly.
• Invoice Value: It is the total value of export goods covered by the invoice including of tax and other charges, if any.
• Taxable Value: It is the value of goods, on which tax is paid. (Value net of tax).
• Tax Paid IGST, only in case, where the export is done on payment of IGST

2. Value Differences

Where the value declared in the tax invoice is different from the export value declared in the corresponding shipping bill under the Customs Act, refund claims are not being processed The value recorded in the GST invoice should normally be the transaction value as determined under section 15 of the CGST Act read with the rules made thereunder. The same transaction value should normally be recorded in the corresponding shipping bill / bill of export. During the processing of the refund claim, the value of the goods declared in the GST invoice and the value in the corresponding shipping bill / bill of export should be examined and the lower of the two values should be sanctioned as refund. [Para 9,9.1 of Circular 37/11/2018 dated 15- 03-2018]

3. IGST Paid Differences GSTR-1 and 3B

It is one of validation check by GSTIN that aggregate IGST paid amount claimed in Table 6A of GSTR-1 is not higher that IGST paid amount indicated in Table under column 3.1(b) of GSTR-3B of corresponding month. To ensure that the GST System transmits the export invoice data, in case of export of goods with payment of IGST, to ICEGATE for refund, Exporters should make payment of Tax and File Return as under:

1. File Form GSTR-3B of corresponding period.
2. In case of export of goods, the IGST amount paid should be shown through Table 3.1(b) of GSTR-3B and amount must be equal to or greater than the total IGST amount shown in Table 6A, and Table 6B, of GSTR-1 for the corresponding tax period.

As return in FORM GSTR-3B does not contain provisions for reporting of differential figures for past month(s), the said figures may be reported on net basis along with the values for current month itself in appropriate tables i.e. Table No. 3.1, 3.2, 4 and 5, as the case may be. It may be noted that while making adjustment in the output tax liability or input tax credit, there can be no negative entries in the FORM GSTR-3B.

The amount remaining for adjustment, if any, may be adjusted in the return(s) in FORM GSTR3B of subsequent month(s) and, in cases where such adjustment is not feasible, refund may be claimed. Where adjustments have been made in FORM GSTR-3B of multiple months, corresponding adjustments in FORM GSTR-1 should also preferably be made in the corresponding months. [Para 4 of Circular 26/26/2017 dated 29-12-17]

Auto Drafting of GSTR-1

As and when the Form auto-drafted in FORM GSTR-1 are furnished for the said tax period, then details of exports will be auto-drafted from the Table 6A referred above. The procedure is as follows:

1. File GSTR-3B for a Tax Period
2. Fill Table 6A of Form GSTR-1 available on the Common Portal. Refund will be processed based on this Table 6A
3. As and when Form GSTR-1 is filed, the data relating to exports will be auto-populated from the above Table 6A

Thus,the Export Refund by ICEGate is dependent on few factors. Before claiming a refund, the taxpayers should ensure the following conditions are met:

• GSTR-3B for the month has been filed
• Table 6A (Refund on Export) of GSTR-1 has been filed
• Shipping Bill details are correctly provided in Table 6A of GSTR-1.
• The IGST amount mentioned in GSTR-3B is equal to the IGST mentioned in Table 6A of GSTR-1.

Processing of IGST Refund Claim

Upon the receipt of the information regarding the furnishing of a valid return in FORM GSTR-3 or FORM GSTR-3B, as the case may be, from the common portal, the system designated by the Customs or the proper officer of Customs, as the case may be shall process the claim of refund in respect of export of goods and an amount equal to the integrated tax paid in respect of each shipping bill or bill of export shall be electronically credited to the bank account of the applicant mentioned in his registration particulars and as intimated to the Customs authorities.

As per Instruction No.15/2017-Customs dated 9-10-17, The amount of refund of IGST paid on export of goods shall be credited to the account of exporter registered with Customs even if it is different from bank account mentioned in registration particulars.

Consequence of unfulfilled conditions:
Before initiating the refund procedure, supplier’s filing data is given a thorough check to assure the taxpayer has filed his/her returns without any errors. And for any faulty filing or mismatch in return forms, the ICEGate officials can delay or even reject the exporter’s fund transfer. But before doing so, a notification is sent to the exporter by GSTN, informing him/her about such difference. So that the exporter can make necessary corrections in subsequent returns and get the refunds.

Export Refund through ICEGate portal
1. Once the taxpayer files the form GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B, GSTN examines the content of Table 6A of GSTR-1.
2. Shipping bill details like shipping bill number, date and port code are transferred from GSTN to the ICEGate portal.
3. The ICEGate portal first checks the correctness of shipping bill details and then examines the details between the two forms and verifies if the amount has actually been paid.
4. The outcome of the verification procedure can lead to 2 scenarios,

1. Transmission of export refund: If all the conditions are met and IGST has been paid, the refund process is initiated and the taxpayer receives his/her refund within 5-6 working days.
2. Non-transmission of export refund: ICEGate officials delay or hold the export refund on the grounds of one or more reasons as given below:

• Faulty entry of Shipping Bill Number, Shipping Bill Date or Port Code while uploading invoices in GSTR-1.
• The taxpayer does not mention the invoice type as exports with payment of duty while uploading invoices in GSTR-1.
• Taxpayer failed to indicate the applicable IGST amount in Table 3.1b in GSTR-3B.
• The taxpayer has paid an insufficient amount in GSTR-3B, contrasting to his/her declaration in form GSTR-1.
  Due to above reasons the invoice does not get transmitted to ICE GATE and taxpayer does not get refund.

Withholding of Refund of integrated tax paid on exports

The claim for refund shall be withheld where, – 

• a request has been received from the jurisdictional Commissioner of central tax, State tax or Union territory tax to withhold the payment of refund due to the person claiming refund in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (10) or sub-section (11) of section 54; or the proper officer of Customs determines that the goods were exported in violation of the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962.
• the proper officer of integrated tax at the Customs station shall intimate the applicant and the jurisdictional Commissioner of central tax, State tax or Union territory tax, as the case may be, and a copy of such intimation shall be transmitted to the common portal
• the proper officer of central tax or State tax or Union territory tax, as the case may be, shall pass an order in Part B of FORM GST RFD-07
• Where the applicant becomes entitled to refund of the amount withheld, the concerned jurisdictional officer of central tax, State tax or Union territory tax, as the case may be, shall proceed to refund the amount after passing an order in FORM Part A of GST RFD-06.

The Delay or Holding of export refunds is temporary as the taxpayer can rectify the given mistakes in subsequent returns (through amendments) and claim for his/her refund to be processed.

IRIS GST is a registered GSP under the GST regime and provider of premium quality GST compliance tools in India. With tools like IRIS Sapphire (invoice management) and IRIS Topaz (Eway Bill management), IRIS GST aims to provide a hassle-free GST compliance experience across the nation.

For any queries or to book our free demo, mail us at support@irisgst.com.