Inability to Amend Pending Export Invoices due to GST-ICEGATE Portal Mismatch: Gujarat HC Directs Customs to Re-verify [Read Order]

The Gujarat High Court recently directed the customs authorities to re-verify export records and process a pending Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) refund after finding that a technical mismatch between the GST portal and the Indian Customs Electronic Gateway (ICEGATE) system had prevented an exporter from being able to amend their export invoices.

The decision was given against a Special Civil Application instituted by Rameswar Udyog Pvt. Ltd. - an exporter who had exported goods in July 2017 on payment of IGST. The petitioner sought an IGSTrefund of ₹38,84,875 along with interest.

The applicant, represented by Uchit N. Sheth contended that errors in furnishing details in Form GSTR-1 led to a mismatch between data uploaded on the GST portal and records available on ICEGATE, resulting in the denial of refund. Although the authorities had permitted amendments for 28 invoices, the petitioners were unable to amend the remaining 14 invoices due to a technical error within the system.

Dhaval Vyas, representing the respondent Union of India and Revenue, received instructions and submitted that the exporter may approach the port of export/customs Zonal Office with the copy of GSTR-1 and GSTR-3 B along with the certificate of the Chartered Accountant stating that there is no discrepancy between the IGST amount refunded on exports and the actual IGST amount on exports.

It was further submitted by the standing counsel that the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) had already issued Circular No.12/2018-Customs dated May 29, 2018, prescribing the remedial mechanism that may be employed in such situations.

The exporter must apply through the customs zonal office, which would forward the case to the Customs Policy Wing. The Wing sends the details to GSTN, who would confirm the transmission of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) records back to the customs system, after which the normal IGST refund process is followed.

The Bench of Justice J. B. Pardiwala and Justice Ilesh J. Vora accepted the protocol and directed the Deputy Commissioner of Customs to immediately act as per the steps outlined and sanction the refund within 12 weeks of receiving the order, in accordance with law.

The court further observed that if the authorities faced any difficulty, they shall promptly seek information from the petitioners, and if the problem persisted, the petitioners would be at liberty to revive the instant writ petition.

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