Ludhiana: Irked over the slow speed of processing of GST refunds, city exporters are demanding appointing of a nodal officer in the central GST and customs departments for faster processing of the same.
According to businessmen, a huge amount of GST refunds of theirs get stuck every month on their export consignments due to which they have to face various problems.
Giving more information, Harish Dua, president of Knitwear and Apparel Exporters Organisation, said, “The problem of delay in GST refunds of exporters is taking a very serious turn now. For the last one year the refunds are being processed very slowly and it sometimes takes months to settle the entire refund pertaining to a particular period. The worst part is that this is happening even after completion of all formalities by us and proper filing of our returns.”
“From this year we are hearing that the Union ministers and officials are making false claims that the refunds are being processed at a very fast pace and all genuine claims are being settled on time by the central GST department but the story is the other way round. Sometimes, the GST department officials claim that our documents are not complete, sometimes they claim that they have not received necessary clearance from the customs department. This is a never-ending harassment and at the end of the day it’s the businessmen who suffer badly and incur huge losses due to their hard-earned money getting blocked. This problem of delay in processing of GST refunds cannot be solved until there is an appointment of a nodal officer for exporters who can coordinate with both GST and customs department for processing of GST refunds.”
According to Harish Kairpal, cashier of Knitwear Club, Ludhiana, “GST refunds of exporters from lakhs to several crores are getting stuck with the taxation departments and people do not have money to carry on with their business. When GST was to be launched the central government had made several tall claims that this taxation system is going to improve doing of business but the reality is the other way round and exporters are turning out to be biggest victims. Huge amounts of our GST remains pending with the departments for months, which is taking a toll on the exporters. The central government should take a serious view of this problem and get it resolved at the earliest by appointing a nodal officer for GST refund issues of exporters.”
According to Subash Bajaj, an engineering component exporter from the city, “The GST refunds problem is the biggest problem of the exporters’ fraternity and until this issue is tackled seriously, the exports from India will keep falling as businessmen are getting fed up with the system and many of them are considering quitting this business as one’s capital gets stuck with these departments. Therefore, appointment of a nodal officer, who could coordinate between both GST and customs department for refunds of exporters, should be considered by the central government.”
Published On : 04-02-2020
Source : Times of India
