Gujarat’s legislative assembly approves amendments to accelerate GST refunds, simplify compliance for small businesses, and broaden access to export refunds, aiming to streamline tax processes and bolster economic growth.
Gujarat’s legislative assembly has approved amendments to the state’s GST law aimed at speeding up refunds and trimming paperwork for smaller businesses, as the state moves to align itself with recommendations from the 56th GST Council meeting. According to Ahmedabad Mirror, the changes include faceless GST registration for small businesses within three days and a faster refund route for eligible claims linked to an inverted duty structure, where input taxes are higher than the tax on finished goods.
The revised rules are designed to ease cash-flow pressure on traders and manufacturers by allowing 90% of eligible inverted-duty refunds to be issued provisionally within seven days. DeshGujarat reported that the new bill also removes the earlier ₹1,000 minimum threshold for refund claims on exported goods made with tax payment, broadening access to refunds for exporters with smaller claims. Taxkitab said the change follows amendments to the CGST framework that extend provisional refund treatment to inverted-duty cases, a move intended to cut delays that have long tied up working capital.
The assembly also backed a clarification on post-sale discounts, credit notes and taxable turnover. Under the amended provisions, sellers may reduce turnover for discounts given after the sale even if those discounts were not part of the original deal, provided a credit note is issued and the buyer reverses the input tax credit on the discounted amount. That clarification, which The state government says is meant to remove ambiguity in compliance, brings formal recognition to a practice that has often created disputes in GST administration.
Finance minister Kanu Desai said the measures should simplify compliance and improve refund processing without hurting revenue growth. He also said Gujarat had achieved a 99.6% on-time GST return filing rate in the last financial year, the highest in the country, and had ranked first nationally for five consecutive years. Desai added that the state’s revenue growth had held up despite GST 2.0 rate cuts and exemptions on items including medicines for serious illnesses, insurance premiums, butter, ghee, soap, shampoo, tractors and farm equipment.
Disclaimer: This article is intended to inform and educate, not to recommend or endorse any financial product, investment or strategy. Please consider your own financial circumstances and seek professional advice where appropriate before making financial decisions.
