CBIC processes over 12K refund applications to help GST taxpayers amid COVID-19 crisis

In a bid to help the GST taxpayers amid the Coronavirus crisis, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has processed about 12,923 refund applications involving claims worth Rs 5,575 crore since March 30.

According to reports, in the last week, the CBIC has also processed 7,873 claims worth Rs 3,854 crore. This decision was taken with the GST Council's approval in its 39th meeting held on March 14 to mitigate delays in ITC refunds faced by the taxpayers. 

In an official release, the CBIC has stated: "It had been brought to the notice of GST Council by various stakeholders including the taxpayers. It was noticed that lot of time is spent in the verification of whether the credit was availed on services and/or Capital Goods in certain categories for the refund claims."

"In order to address the difficulty faced by trade in providing this data at the time of processing of claims leading to delays and an increase in compliance cost, it was decided in the GST Council to make a declaration of classification codes a part of the application itself," it further added.

Earlier, the CBIC had taken up an initiative to help the GST return filers to facilitate early ITC refunds as well as to ensure that the wrong ITC claims were not processed in the absence of relevant information.

PM Modi reviews COVID-19 impact on economy 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to review the impact of Coronavirus pandemic on the economy, details of which have been accessed by the Republic Media Network. In the meeting between the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister, a second stimulus package was discussed to provide relief to those sectors which have been severely affected. 

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COVID-19 cases in India 

According to the latest update of the Union Health Ministry, there are currently a total of 11,616 active cases of Coronavirus in the country. While 452 deaths have been reported overall, around 1,767 people have been cured/discharged/migrated.

Read: Health Minister asks medical staff to ensure treatment of non-COVID patients in emergency

Read: IMF Indian Mission Chief talks economy amid Coronavirus pandemic; suggests measures