A GST refund on exports depends on how you exported. IGST paid on exported goods comes from Customs through the shipping bill, with no RFD-01. Unused input credit on exports under a LUT, and IGST paid on exported services, are claimed in Form GST RFD-01 within two years of the relevant date. We check which route is yours, prepare the working and file the claim.
Exports are zero-rated under GST. You either export without paying IGST under a Letter of Undertaking (LUT), or you pay IGST and claim it back. Under a LUT you cannot get back the tax on your sales, because none was charged; what builds up is input tax credit, and section 54(3) lets a registered person claim that unused credit at the end of a tax period.
Goods, IGST paid / Services, IGST paid / Goods or services under a LUT
Rule 89(4): refund = zero-rated turnover x Net ITC / Adjusted Total Turnover, for the same period.
The relevant date differs for goods and services; the hint under the field says which.
We did not find a government fee for Form RFD-01. Recommendations of the 57th GST Council of 8 October 2026 on refunds are not law until notified.
GST registration certificate
Set by the route, with no success fee. We confirm the exact amount before filing.
Shipping bill and GSTR-1 do not match: Number, date and port code must agree with Table 6A. A mismatch holds the refund until it is corrected.
We do: Route and last-day check, the Rule 89(4) working and statements, filing of Form RFD-01, follow-up on a deficiency memo, and help with a stuck Customs refund.
No. The shipping bill is treated as the application once the export manifest is filed and a valid GSTR-3B is filed. Customs pays the refund. We help only when it is stuck.
Two years from the relevant date: for goods the day the ship or aircraft leaves India, for services the day foreign currency is received. The days between filing and a deficiency memo are excluded when you file a fresh claim.
The unused input tax credit, under the Rule 89(4) formula. Credit on inputs and input services counts; credit on capital goods does not, and the refund cannot exceed the credit actually unused.
A bank realisation certificate or foreign inward remittance certificate, because the receipt in foreign currency is a condition of the export. The relevant date is that receipt.
Without a valid LUT you cannot export without paying tax, so the unused-credit route is not open. File a LUT for the next period, or export with IGST. Exports already made need a separate review; see our GST LUT page.
No refund of credit or IGST on goods on which export duty was payable (section 54(15), from 1 November 2024). Input credit is also not refunded where drawback of central tax is taken on the same supply.
If export proceeds are not realised within the foreign-exchange period, a refund already paid must be repaid with interest (Rule 96B), unless the Reserve Bank writes the proceeds off. A refund claimed now is at risk.
An acknowledgement or deficiency memo within 15 days and the officer's order within 60 days of a complete application, with 6% a year interest if later. For a low-risk zero-rated claim, 90% may be paid as an advance. Nobody can promise the date.
A standard claim starts at ₹2,000 + GST and a complex one at ₹6,000 + GST, with no success fee. Complex means statements we have to prepare, more than one financial year, or risk flags. A claim above ₹50 lakh or with an earlier rejection is quoted after review. We confirm the exact amount before filing, and found no government fee for Form RFD-01.
One claim can cover one period or successive periods, but not two financial years. We file a separate claim for each year.
A notice in Form RFD-08 is answered in Form RFD-09 within 15 days, and a claim cannot be rejected without a hearing. See our GST notice reply page.