The most powerful GST Council, in its meeting scheduled on 20th September is likely to propose a procedure to permit a single authority for sanctioning and processing GST refunds for exporters in a quick and an efficient manner.
As per the proposed mechanism, the Government or the tax officials may check, review and sanction full tax refund (both Central GST and State GST once the refund claim is filed.
The move became necessary so as to boost the stressed exports sector, which contracted 0.37 per cent to USD 107.41 billion in April-July 2019-20 as the sector is facing challenges because of sluggish global demand and liquidity crunch.
The GST Council, headed by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising representatives of all states, is slated to meet in Goa and discuss the single-authority mechanism, which is likely to come into effect in September.
Last month, Finance Minister Sitharaman unveiled a slew of measures, including simplification of goods and services tax return forms, quicker tax refunds, and self-certification for startups in a bid to prevent a further economic slowdown.
More importantly, the finance minister stated that all pending GST refunds due to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) would be paid within 30 days and future refunds in 60 days of application. GST collections in August have fallen below Rs 1 lakh crore, which is a sign of slump in the economy. Many industry watchers say the current mechanism of two authorities settling the same refund claims makes the process complex and cause too much inconvenience for the taxpayers.
