GST Input Tax Credit Refunds
Refund applications for export credit, inverted duty structure and excess balance — reconciled properly and filed inside the two-year window.
Input tax credit that cannot be used often can still be refunded — the two most common routes are zero-rated exports, where you sold without charging GST but still paid it on your inputs, and inverted duty structure, where your inputs are taxed at a higher rate than your output supply and credit accumulates because it cannot be fully offset.
Both routes run through the same application, GST RFD-01, and both are subject to the same hard limit: 2 years from the relevant date. The portal does not stop you from filing late by itself — it is entirely on you to track the relevant date for each claim and file inside the window, because once it closes the credit is not refundable at all.
The claim most often overstated is inverted duty structure. The refund is restricted to input goods only, not input services or capital goods — clients frequently assume every input qualifies and are surprised when the computed refund is lower than expected. Get the Rule 89(5) computation right upfront and there are no surprises later.
Enquire about ITC Refunds
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If any of these describe where you are right now, this is the service you are looking for.
You export goods or services, or supply to an SEZ, and have unutilised input tax credit as a result of zero-rated supply.
Your inputs are taxed at a higher GST rate than your output supply, and credit is accumulating that you cannot offset against output liability.
You have an excess balance in your electronic cash ledger that you want refunded rather than left idle.
You have a refund claim that was rejected or under-sanctioned and want it reviewed before the two-year window closes.
You are unsure whether your business genuinely qualifies for an inverted duty structure refund, or by how much.
Everything handled, end to end
The full scope of the engagement, so there is nothing to discover halfway through.
Eligibility and relevant-date determination
Which refund category applies to you, and the exact relevant date that starts your two-year clock — the two things most claims get wrong before they even start.
Credit reconciliation
Input and output tax reconciled against your returns and GSTR-2B, so the claimed amount is defensible under scrutiny rather than estimated.
Refund computation (Rule 89 formulas)
The correct formula applied for your refund type, with the inverted duty restriction to input goods factored in from the start rather than discovered at rejection.
Application filing (GST RFD-01)
The application prepared and filed with full supporting statements and reconciliation annexed.
Deficiency memo response
Where the department raises a deficiency memo rather than proceeding to sanction, a response drafted and resubmitted within the window.
Provisional and final sanction tracking
Following the claim through provisional sanction — 90% sanctioned provisionally, on a risk-evaluation basis — to final sanction, rather than treating provisional payment as the end of the matter.
What you'll need to hand over
Collected once, at the start. We tell you which of these apply to your case before you gather anything.
Every refund application
- 01GST returns for the periods the claim covers
- 02GSTR-2B for the same periods
- 03Statement of invoices supporting the claim, in the prescribed format
- 04Bank realisation certificates or FIRC, for export claims
- 05Copy of the LUT (Letter of Undertaking), for exports without payment of tax
Inverted duty structure claims specifically
- 01Purchase invoices for input goods, clearly distinguished from input services and capital goods
- 02Sales invoices showing the output GST rate
- 03Rule 89(5) computation working
Export and SEZ supply claims specifically
- 01Shipping bills, for goods exports
- 02SEZ endorsement, for supplies to an SEZ unit or developer
- 03Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate confirming payment receipt
Bank realisation certificates take time to obtain from your bank and are frequently the item that delays an export refund claim past its comfortable filing window. Request yours as soon as an export is complete, not when you sit down to file the refund.
5 steps, start to finish
Where the work actually goes, and what we need from you at each stage.
Eligibility and reconciliation
We confirm which refund category applies, establish the relevant date, and reconcile the underlying credit against your returns and GSTR-2B.
Confirm with us
Computation
The refund amount computed under the correct Rule 89 formula for your claim type.
With reconciliation
Application filed
GST RFD-01 filed with supporting statements, and an acknowledgement issued in RFD-02 once the application is complete.
RFD-02, within 15 days of a complete application
Provisional sanction
Where applicable, 90% sanctioned provisionally, on a risk-evaluation basis pending final scrutiny.
After acknowledgement
Final sanction or deficiency response
The claim tracked through to final sanction, or a deficiency memo answered and resubmitted if one is raised.
Varies by case
What to expect, and what it costs
Timelines are indicative and depend on departmental processing and how quickly documents come back to us. Message us on WhatsApp for a written quote.
Enquire on WhatsApp- Time limit to file a refund claim
- 2 years from the relevant date
- Acknowledgement of a complete application
- RFD-02, within 15 days of a complete application
- Provisional sanction (zero-rated and, since Oct 2025, inverted duty)
- 90% sanctioned provisionally, on a risk-evaluation basis
Professional fees
On request
Common questions
The questions we are actually asked about ITC Refunds. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
2 years from the relevant date, under Section 54(1). The portal will not stop you from missing this — tracking the relevant date for each claim and filing inside the window is entirely your responsibility, and once it closes the credit cannot be recovered.
No, and this is the most common point of disappointment. The refund is restricted to input goods only, not input services or capital goods. Credit sitting on input services or capital goods does not qualify for this particular refund route, however genuinely it accumulated.
A complete application is acknowledged within RFD-02, within 15 days of a complete application. For zero-rated supplies, and since October 2025 for inverted duty structure claims too, 90% sanctioned provisionally, on a risk-evaluation basis — the balance follows after full scrutiny. The provisional portion is what most businesses see first.
A notice that your application is incomplete or has an issue that must be corrected before it can proceed to sanction. It restarts your filing clock for that submission, so respond to it as carefully as you would the original application, not as a formality.
Yes — money sitting in your electronic cash ledger that you have not used can be refunded on application, separate from the export and inverted duty routes, and is generally the most straightforward of the refund categories.
Most commonly because part of the claimed credit fell outside the inverted duty restriction, or because invoices in your claim did not match your supplier's GSTR-2B reporting. A reconciliation before filing catches most of this; a rejection after filing is harder to unwind than a correction beforehand.
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