GSTAT Thiruvananthapuram Orders Refund of IGST Paid Twice on Cashew Exports

Choice Cashew Industries Vs Commissioner of CGST (GSTAT Thiruvananthapuram)

Summary: The Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal, Thiruvananthapuram Bench, considered three connected appeals filed by M/s. Choice Cashew Industries concerning refund of IGST paid on exports of cashew kernels during November 2018, December 2018 and February 2019. The appellant had exported cashew kernels on payment of IGST at 5% and had correctly reported the shipping bills and export invoices in GSTR-1. However, while filing the GSTR-3B returns for those months, the export turnover and corresponding IGST were reported in Table 3.1(a), meant for outward taxable supplies other than zero-rated supplies, instead of Table 3.1(b), relating to zero-rated supplies. As a result, the Customs EDI system did not process the automatic refund of the IGST originally paid on the exports.

To obtain the export refund, the appellant subsequently reported the same export turnover correctly in the GSTR-3B return for August 2019 and again paid IGST totalling Rs. 18,27,272/- comprising Rs. 9,41,390/- for November 2018, Rs. 4,55,293/- for December 2018 and Rs. 4,30,587/- for February 2019. The second payment was processed for refund through the Customs automated system. The appellant thereafter sought refund of the original IGST payments, contending that those amounts remained as excess payments because the same tax had effectively been paid twice. The refund claims were rejected, and the first appellate authority dismissed the appeals on the premise that the appellant had already received the refund.