June 19, 2018
Rs 25,000 crore export dues still pending: Amit Mitra
GST refunds to the tune of Rs 25,000 crore are still pending for exporters, the West Bengal Finance Minister, Dr Amit Mitra, has said.
Nearly 3,00,000 refund applications have been received since the roll-out of the GST regime on July 1. Around 35-40 per cent of these applications have to be physically verified since the GST Network (or GSTN) is not in place, Dr Mitra alleged.
Auto verification would have ensured faster clearance of documents and quicker refunds.
“GSTN is still not in place and delay in auto verification of documents has delayed refunds for exporters,” the Finance Minister said during a press conference organised by WBIDC in Kolkata on Monday.
Dr Mitra pointed out that physical verification of documents are now being done by officials and this can give rise to a set of “inspector-raaj”.
“We will take up the matter with the GST council. Moreover, I have been saying this for quite some time that GSTN is not at all ready. And the result is this Rs 25,000 crore export dues,” he said.
