Question 1

Are there any hidden charges for GST refund RFD-01?

Accepted Answer

No. The fee quoted before we start is the fee you pay. Government fees, portal charges or statutory late fees, where they apply, are separate and disclosed to you in advance with the exact amount. We issue a proper GST invoice for our professional fee. If the scope of work changes — for example, an unexpected notice or additional periods — we tell you the revised fee before doing anything further.

Question 2

Is there a GST consultant near Santhome for gst refund application?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We serve Santhome and the surrounding areas from our office at Porur, Chennai - 600 116, Tamil Nadu, and most GST refund work is completed online — you send documents on WhatsApp and we handle the portal work. If you prefer in-person help, we offer doorstep document pickup across Santhome and you are welcome to visit our office. Reach us on +91 - 9600 606 444 between 9 AM and 8 PM, Monday to Saturday.

Question 3

I export goods after paying IGST. How do I get that tax back?

Accepted Answer

For export of goods with payment of IGST, no separate RFD-01 is needed. The shipping bill filed with customs is itself treated as the refund application once you file GSTR-1 with correct shipping bill details in Table 6A and pay the tax through GSTR-3B. Customs matches the data from the GST portal with ICEGATE and credits the refund directly to your bank account. Most delays happen because of invoice mismatches between GSTR-1 and the shipping bill, or bank account validation errors, so reconcile both before filing each month.

Question 4

I received a deficiency memo RFD-03 against my refund claim. What should I do?

Accepted Answer

A deficiency memo in RFD-03 means the officer found your application incomplete, and the application is treated as not filed. You cannot reply to an RFD-03; you must file a fresh RFD-01 after curing the defects, and the debited ITC or cash is re-credited to your ledger. Importantly, the fresh application must still fall within the original two-year limitation, so act quickly. Read the memo carefully, fix every listed deficiency, and refile with a covering note. Businesses in Santhome that receive repeated memos usually have invoice statement formatting issues that are easy to correct professionally.

Question 5

What are deemed exports and who claims the refund, the supplier or the buyer?

Accepted Answer

Deemed exports are notified domestic supplies treated like exports even though goods do not leave India, such as supplies to Export Oriented Units, supplies against Advance Authorisation, and supplies of capital goods against EPCG authorisation. Tax is paid on these supplies, and the refund of that tax can be claimed through RFD-01 by either the recipient or, where the recipient furnishes an undertaking that it will not claim the refund and will not avail ITC, by the supplier. The claim must be filed within two years and supported by the prescribed acknowledgements and undertakings.

Question 6

I deposited extra money in my GST cash ledger by mistake. Can I get it back?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Excess balance lying in the electronic cash ledger can be claimed back by filing RFD-01 under the category refund of excess balance in electronic cash ledger. This is one of the simplest refund types because no invoice statements are required; the portal auto-populates the ledger balance and you simply select the amount and the bank account for credit. This commonly happens when tax is deposited under the wrong head, for example CGST instead of IGST. Businesses in Santhome facing this issue can call +91 - 9600 606 444 and the claim can usually be filed the same day.

Question 7

What documents do I need to attach with a GST refund application?

Accepted Answer

The documents depend on the refund category. Export refunds under LUT need a statement of invoices with corresponding shipping bill numbers and dates, or FIRC and BRC for service exports. Inverted duty claims need statements of inward and outward supplies with the Rule 89(5) computation. All claims need a declaration that the tax incidence has not been passed on, and claims above Rs.2 lakh require a certificate from a chartered accountant or cost accountant in certain cases. Uploads are limited on the portal, so annexures must be prepared compactly. Call +91 - 9600 606 444 for a category-wise checklist.

Question 8

How can I track my GST refund status, and is there help near me in Chennai?

Accepted Answer

Log in to the GST portal and go to Services, then Refunds, then Track Application Status, where each ARN shows its stage: filed, acknowledged, provisional refund issued, or final order passed. For IGST-paid exports, refund status is tracked on ICEGATE against the shipping bill. If an application shows no movement past sixty days, you are entitled to interest on the delayed amount and can escalate through a grievance on the portal. ChennaiGST assists businesses across Santhome with follow-up and escalation of stuck refunds; call +91 - 9600 606 444 with your ARN for a status review.

Question 9

Is there a last date to claim input tax credit for a financial year?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Under Section 16(4), ITC for invoices and debit notes of a financial year must be claimed by the earlier of 30 November following the end of that financial year or the date of filing the annual return GSTR-9. So credit on a March 2026 invoice must be taken in a GSTR-3B filed on or before 30 November 2026. Credits discovered after this date are permanently lost, which is why a year-end reconciliation in September or October, comparing books, GSTR-2B and GSTR-3B for the full year, is essential for every business in Santhome.

Question 10

If my GST practitioner files a wrong return, who is responsible for it?

Accepted Answer

You are. The law is explicit that where a statement or return is furnished by an authorised GST practitioner, the responsibility for the correctness of the particulars remains with the registered person. The portal reinforces this: when a GSTP prepares a return, a confirmation is sought from you by email and SMS before it is treated as your filing, and for some filings your own EVC or DSC completes the submission. So review every draft before approving, and keep the workings the practitioner used. Choose someone who shares acknowledgements and reconciliations unprompted; that habit, more than any certificate, protects your business.

Question 11

How do I handle GST when expired medicines are returned to the distributor?

Accepted Answer

CBIC Circular 72/46/2018 gives two routes for time-expired drugs. The return can be treated as a fresh supply by the person returning them, with a tax invoice if that person is registered, or the original supplier can issue a credit note under Section 34; the tax adjustment on a credit note is available only if it is reported within the statutory window, now 30 November following the financial year of supply. Where the manufacturer ultimately destroys the expired stock, input tax credit relating to the destroyed goods must be reversed under Section 17(5)(h). Pharmacies should reconcile expiry returns quarterly; call +91 - 9600 606 444 for help.

Question 12

What happened to the old 12 percent and 28 percent GST slabs?

Accepted Answer

Both slabs were abolished with effect from 22 September 2025. Nearly all goods that were at 12 percent moved down to 5 percent, and the bulk of the 28 percent items moved to 18 percent, with only a small set of luxury and demerit goods shifted up to the special 40 percent rate. This means old rate charts, printed price lists and software masters created before September 2025 are unreliable. Before quoting or billing, confirm the current rate against the CBIC rate notifications for your exact HSN code, or call +91 - 9600 606 444 and we will verify it for your product list.

Question 13

How do I document free samples and gifts given to customers?

Accepted Answer

Goods supplied genuinely free of cost to unrelated persons are not a supply, so no tax invoice is raised and no GST is charged; the movement is covered by a delivery challan marked as free samples. The cost is that input tax credit on those goods must be reversed. Two traps deserve care: gifts to related persons or between distinct GSTINs of the same PAN are taxable under Schedule I even without consideration, and promotional schemes like buy one get one are treated as a single price for two items, taxed normally with credit intact. Structure your Santhome promotions with this distinction in mind.

Question 14

We sponsored a trade event. Does reverse charge apply to the sponsorship amount?

Accepted Answer

If your business is a body corporate or partnership firm, sponsorship services received are notified under Section 9(3) and you must pay 18 percent GST under reverse charge, with ITC available since sponsorship is a marketing expense. One recent change matters: with effect from 16 January 2025, sponsorship services provided by a body corporate were moved to forward charge, so if the event organiser billing you is a company, it now charges GST on its invoice and RCM does not apply. Where the provider is a proprietor, trust or society, RCM continues. Verify the organiser's constitution before booking the entry, and raise a self-invoice where the provider is unregistered.

Question 15

Can I transfer cash ledger balance from one GSTIN to another GSTIN of the same PAN?

Accepted Answer

Yes, within limits. Under Section 49(10), unutilised IGST and CGST balances in the electronic cash ledger can be transferred through PMT-09 to the cash ledger of a distinct person, that is, another GSTIN registered on the same PAN in the same or another state. SGST balances cannot be moved across states in this manner. The transfer is not permitted if the transferring GSTIN has any unpaid liability standing in its electronic liability register. Multi-state businesses headquartered in Santhome use this to shift idle deposits to the branch that actually needs the cash, avoiding fresh working capital outflow.

Question 16

Is GST still charged on health insurance premiums?

Accepted Answer

Not on individual policies. With effect from 22 September 2025, premiums on all individual life insurance policies and individual health insurance policies, including family floater and senior citizen plans, are exempt from GST, along with their reinsurance. Earlier these attracted 18 percent, so the change directly reduces the premium outgo for households. Group policies taken by businesses for employees continue to be taxable, and the input tax credit position on such group covers still depends on whether the cover is statutorily obligatory. When renewing policies, check that the insurer has passed on the exemption rather than merely repricing the premium.

Question 17

If I open a bulk bag and sell rice loose by weight, is that sale taxable?

Accepted Answer

No. The 5% levy on specified food items applies only when they are supplied in pre-packaged and labelled form in packs up to 25 kilograms. When a retailer opens bulk stock and weighs out loose quantities against each customer's order, the supply is not of a pre-packaged commodity, so it remains exempt. What you cannot do is sell an intact labelled retail pack and bill it as loose. Keep purchase records showing bulk procurement and maintain the loose counter separately from the packed shelf, because officers test this distinction during inspections of grocery businesses. When in doubt on a product, call +91 - 9600 606 444.

Question 18

Our security agency does not charge GST on its bills. Is that correct?

Accepted Answer

Quite possibly, yes. Since 1 January 2019, security services meaning supply of security personnel, when provided by any person other than a body corporate to a registered person, fall under reverse charge, so the agency correctly bills without tax and you pay 18 percent through GSTR-3B in cash, claiming ITC. If your security agency is a private limited company, however, RCM does not apply and it must charge GST on its invoice under forward charge. Composition taxpayers as recipients are excluded from this entry. Confirm the agency's constitution from its PAN, because paying under the wrong mechanism creates trouble for both sides.

Question 19

Do you provide GST refund RFD-01 for businesses on Sullivan Street?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We serve businesses on and around Sullivan Street in Santhome — shops, offices, godowns and home-run businesses alike. Document pickup can be arranged at your premises, or you can send everything on WhatsApp and complete GST refund without leaving your counter. Call +91 - 9600 606 444 and mention your location; a consultant will confirm the fee and timeline immediately.

Question 20

What is the process for GST refund RFD-01?

Accepted Answer

The process runs in clear stages: Eligibility and computation; Document compilation; RFD-01 filing; Departmental follow-up. A senior consultant reviews your file at each stage rather than passing it to a data-entry desk, and you receive a confirmation with the filed documents once it is complete. You always know which stage your work is at — we update you on WhatsApp instead of leaving you to follow up.

Question 21

Which GST office handles Santhome businesses?

Accepted Answer

Businesses in Santhome (PIN 600004) generally fall under the CGST Chennai North Commissionerate, with state-jurisdiction cases handled by the Tamil Nadu Commercial Taxes Department. Your exact division and range can be confirmed from your GSTIN on the GST portal. We regularly appear before this jurisdiction for registrations, clarifications and hearings, so we know the local practice and documentation preferences.

Aspect	With ChennaiGST	DIY / Unattended
Annual return preparation	Monthly reconciliations roll naturally into GSTR-9, filed comfortably before 31 December with figures already agreed through the year.	Twelve months of unmatched data reconstructed in December, with differences discovered too late to be corrected cleanly.
Time cost	Roughly an hour a month to send data and approve drafts; the portal work, reconciliation and follow-up are ours.	Hours every month lost to portal errors, JSON files, OTP failures and reworking figures — usually on the due date itself.
Input tax credit	Purchase register matched against GSTR-2B each period, with defaulting suppliers chased so eligible credit is actually captured.	Credit claimed from books alone; mismatches with GSTR-2B mean lost credit or excess claims that invite departmental queries.
Risk of notices	GSTR-1, GSTR-3B and GSTR-2B reconciled before filing, removing the mismatches that trigger most scrutiny notices.	Inconsistent figures across returns quietly build a mismatch history that surfaces later as ASMT-10 scrutiny or a demand notice.
Registration and amendments	Query-resistant applications prepared correctly the first time, with supporting documents matched to what proper officers actually verify.	Repeated clarification memos and resubmissions, with weeks lost because a rent agreement or premises photograph did not meet expectations.
Refund claims	RFD-01 filed with complete statements and annexures, tracked from ARN to bank credit, with any deficiency memo answered promptly.	Incomplete claims bounce back as deficiency memos while the refund sits unclaimed for months and working capital stays blocked.

Local GST Refund RFD-01 Support near Sullivan Street, Santhome

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Trade Profile and GST Jurisdiction for Sullivan Street, Santhome

Why Sullivan Street, Santhome Businesses Choose ChennaiGST

Transparent, Fixed Fees Quoted Upfront

Same-Day Response, Every Working Day

Cancelled GSTIN? We Handle Revocation Too

QRMP Managed Properly, Not Just Opted Into

Zero Tolerance for Late Fees and Interest

Deadline Tracking Done for You

Our GST Refund Process

Eligibility and computation

Document compilation

RFD-01 filing

Departmental follow-up

Sanction and credit

Documents Required for GST Refund RFD-01

What GST Refund RFD-01 Costs in Santhome

What You Get

Fewer Errors at the Billing Counter

Slips Settled Before They Become Notices

Smooth Scheme Transitions

Due-Diligence Ready for Investors and Buyers

Annual Returns Without the Year-End Scramble

Every Eligible Rupee of ITC Claimed

With ChennaiGST vs Doing It Yourself

GST Support on Sullivan Street, Santhome

The Current Law on This Service — relevant to Santhome businesses

Concessional rate for petroleum operations raised to 18 per cent

Verification procedure for exporters flagged as risky

Under-construction housing cut to 5 per cent, affordable housing to 1 per cent, both without input credit

Frequently Asked Questions

Related GST Services & Nearby Areas

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