A GST refund is not a favour. It is the return of tax that the statute says should not stick: tax on zero-rated exports (with or without payment of IGST), accumulated credit from an inverted duty structure, and certain other notified cases. The portal will not guess which one you are. The application has to.
Exports
A unit in GIDA that ships goods out of India, or a merchant exporter in Gorakhpur, needs a clean chain: tax invoice, shipping bill, e-way bill, realisation, and a GSTR-1 that matches the shipping bills. Refund of accumulated ITC (export without payment, LUT) and refund of IGST paid on goods are different paths. LUT should be in force before the zero-rated supply, not after.
Inverted duty
Inverted structure refunds arise when credit on inputs accumulates because output is taxed at a lower rate than inputs. Not every accumulation is inverted (capital goods and input services have been treated restrictively in the formula). A manufacturer who applies on a misunderstood formula will have the application deficient. Read the present rule and the circulars, not a WhatsApp summary.
Defects that delay everyone
- GSTR-1, GSTR-3B and the books not matching for the refund period.
- Shipping bills not mapped to invoices.
- Applying for a period whose 3B is still being amended.
- Ignoring the statement of a previous refund already sanctioned for overlapping credit.
See GST and income-tax refunds, which are a different department and a different login.