Which Refund Categories Are Affected?

The changes apply to three specific refund categories:

• Export of Services with payment of tax
• Supplies made to the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Unit or the SEZ Developer with payment of tax
• Refunds claimed by suppliers of Deemed exports

What Has Changed?

No More Tax Period Selection

Previously, the taxpayers had to choose specific tax periods (the ‘From’ and ‘To’ dates) while submitting refund applications in these categories. This choice is now removed. Taxpayers can just

• Select the appropriate refund category
• Click on “Create Refund Application.”

New Invoice-Based System
The most significant change is the shift from ‘Tax Period-based filing’ to ‘Invoice-based filing.’ This means

• You now upload individual eligible invoices directly
• Each invoice is considered separately, rather than bundling all invoices within a tax period

Statement Updates

Refunds must now be claimed through specific statements.

Statement 2: For Export of Services with payment of Tax
Statement 4: For SEZ Supplies with payment of Tax
Statement 5B: For Deemed Exports (applications by suppliers)

Invoice Locking Mechanism

Once you upload invoices with a refund application:

• Those invoices become locked and cannot be amended
• They won’t be available for any future refund claims
• The invoices will only be unlocked if:

1. You withdraw the refund application, or
2. A deficiency memo is issued by the tax authorities

Important Requirements

All taxpayers must ensure they have filed all required returns (including GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, etc.) that were due up to the date of the refund application. An incomplete return filing will prevent successful refund processing.

Benefits of These Changes

These modifications streamline the refund process by:

• Eliminating unnecessary date selections
• Focusing on specific invoices rather than entire periods
• Creating a more transparent tracking mechanism for claimed invoices

For businesses engaged in exports, SEZ supplies, or deemed exports, these changes should result in a more straightforward refund claim process, though they will need to be more careful about which invoices they include in each application.