Question 1

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 2

Which GST office handles Sembium businesses?

Accepted Answer

Businesses in Sembium (PIN 600011) 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.

Question 3

What is the time limit for filing a GST refund application?

Accepted Answer

Form RFD-01 must be filed within two years from the relevant date defined in Section 54 of the CGST Act. For export of goods, the relevant date is the date the ship or aircraft leaves India; for export of services, it is the date of receipt of foreign exchange or the invoice date, whichever is later; for inverted duty structure, it is the due date of the return for the period in which the claim arises. Missing the two-year window makes the refund time-barred, so track pending claims carefully and file early.

Question 4

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 5

I charged CGST and SGST on an invoice that should have carried IGST. How do I fix it?

Accepted Answer

The law provides a clean remedy without interest. Under Section 77 of the CGST Act and Section 19 of the IGST Act, where a supply was wrongly treated as intra-state instead of inter-state or vice versa, you pay the tax under the correct head and claim refund of the tax paid under the wrong head; no interest is charged on the correct payment. Rule 89(1A) allows the refund application within two years from the date the correct tax is paid. Issue a credit note and corrected invoice, amend GSTR-1, and file RFD-01 under the appropriate category. Our Sembium team handles these head-swap corrections regularly; call +91 - 9600 606 444 before the limitation runs.

Question 6

What is an inverted duty structure refund and does my business qualify?

Accepted Answer

An inverted duty structure arises when the GST rate on your inputs is higher than the rate on your outward supplies, causing input tax credit to accumulate. For example, a manufacturer buying raw material at 18 percent and selling finished goods at 5 percent will qualify. Refund of the accumulated ITC is claimed through RFD-01 using the formula prescribed in Rule 89(5), filed within two years of the due date of the relevant return. Certain notified goods are excluded from this refund, so eligibility should be checked against current CBIC notifications before applying.

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

I export under LUT without charging tax. Can I get a refund of my input tax credit?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Exports made under a Letter of Undertaking are zero-rated, so the input tax credit accumulated on your purchases can be claimed as a refund by filing RFD-01 under the category refund of unutilised ITC on export without payment of tax. The refund is computed proportionately using the formula in Rule 89(4), based on your export turnover versus total turnover. You must upload a statement of export invoices along with shipping bills or, for services, FIRC or BRC evidencing foreign exchange receipt. Exporters in Sembium can call +91 - 9600 606 444 for end-to-end filing support.

Question 9

What is the difference between a GST practitioner and a GST consultant?

Accepted Answer

A GST practitioner is a person formally enrolled with the department under Section 48 and Rule 83, through an application in Form PCT-01 and an enrolment certificate in PCT-02, after meeting qualification norms and clearing the NACIN examination where applicable. Once you authorise a GSTP on the portal, they can prepare and furnish your returns, deposit challans and file refund or registration applications on your behalf, with each activity visible in your account. A consultant, by contrast, is any professional you privately engage, such as a chartered accountant or tax advocate, whose authority comes from your engagement rather than portal enrolment. Many firms serving Sembium, including ChennaiGST, combine both roles.

Question 10

Is ITC available on food, catering and canteen expenses for our factory staff?

Accepted Answer

Section 17(5)(b) blocks credit on food, beverages and outdoor catering, but with two useful exceptions. First, where you use catering as an input for making an outward supply of the same category, such as a caterer subcontracting another caterer, credit is allowed. Second, where providing the facility is obligatory for the employer under any law, credit is allowed; the classic case is a statutory canteen required under the Factories Act for factories employing more than 250 workers. Even then, credit is typically restricted to the cost borne by the employer, not amounts recovered from employees. Factories around Sembium should keep the statutory obligation documented in their credit file.

Question 11

What conditions must my IT company meet for a supply to count as export of services?

Accepted Answer

Section 2(6) of the IGST Act lays down five cumulative conditions: the supplier must be located in India, the recipient must be located outside India, the place of supply must be outside India, payment must be received in convertible foreign exchange or in Indian rupees wherever permitted by the RBI, and the supplier and recipient must not be merely establishments of the same person. If even one condition fails, the supply is not zero-rated and GST becomes payable despite the foreign billing. Before filing an LUT, we test every revenue stream of Sembium IT companies against these five conditions.

Question 12

What is the GST rate for restaurants and food delivery now?

Accepted Answer

Standalone restaurants, eateries and cloud kitchens charge 5 percent GST without input tax credit. Restaurants located in hotels where the room tariff exceeds Rs.7,500 per day fall in the specified premises category and charge 18 percent with input tax credit. Food ordered through e-commerce operators such as Swiggy and Zomato is taxed at 5 percent, with the platform liable to pay the tax on restaurant services supplied through it. A restaurant in Sembium paying 5 percent must remember that GST on its rent, gas and equipment purchases becomes a cost, since credit is barred.

Question 13

What GST do hotels charge on room tariffs after the 2025 rate changes?

Accepted Answer

From 22 September 2025, hotel accommodation with a value of supply up to Rs.7,500 per unit per day attracts 5 percent GST without input tax credit, and accommodation above Rs.7,500 attracts 18 percent with input tax credit. The earlier 12 percent slab for mid-range rooms was abolished in the rate rationalisation. Tax applies on the actual transaction value charged, so a discounted rate below Rs.7,500 falls in the 5 percent bracket even if the printed tariff is higher. Hotels should reconfigure billing software slab-wise and watch the ITC restriction on the 5 percent category, which changes costing materially.

Question 14

I declare income under Section 44ADA. Does that mean I am exempt from GST?

Accepted Answer

No, this is a common myth. Section 44ADA is a presumptive taxation scheme under the Income Tax Act that lets professionals declare fifty percent of gross receipts as income; it has nothing to do with GST. GST liability depends solely on aggregate turnover crossing the registration threshold and the nature of your supplies. In fact, the two departments now cross-match data, so gross receipts reported in your ITR and Form 26AS that exceed the GST turnover you declared are a known trigger for notices. Treat the two laws as parallel obligations, each with its own limits and filings.

Question 15

What is the penalty for running a business without GST registration?

Accepted Answer

A taxable person who is liable to register but fails to do so faces a penalty of Rs.10,000 or the amount of tax evaded, whichever is higher, under Section 122 of the CGST Act. Beyond the penalty, the department can demand the tax for the entire unregistered period with interest at 18 percent per annum, and you cannot recover that tax from customers you billed without GST. Goods moved without registration and e-way bills, required for consignments above Rs.50,000, also risk detention. If your turnover has crossed the threshold, registering within thirty days is far cheaper than regularising later.

Question 16

What are the common types of GST notices a business can receive?

Accepted Answer

The frequent ones are: REG-03 seeking clarification on a registration application; GSTR-3A for non-filing of returns; ASMT-10 pointing out discrepancies found on scrutiny of returns; DRC-01A intimating an ascertained tax liability before formal proceedings; DRC-01, the show cause notice under Section 73 or 74; ADT-01 intimating a departmental audit; REG-17 proposing cancellation of registration; RFD-08 proposing rejection of a refund claim; and summons under Section 70. Each has its own reply form and deadline, ranging from seven working days to thirty days, so identifying the notice type correctly is the first step in responding. When in doubt, call +91 - 9600 606 444.

Question 17

Should I claim a refund of my accumulated ITC or just carry it forward?

Accepted Answer

Carry-forward suits businesses whose future output tax will absorb the credit within a few months, since it avoids refund paperwork. A refund makes sense when the credit keeps growing and will never be absorbed, which is typical for exporters under LUT and businesses with inverted duty structure, because idle credit is interest-free money locked with the government. Remember that refunds are only available in categories permitted by Section 54; ordinary accumulated credit from slow sales cannot be refunded. A quick review of your credit ledger trend over six months usually makes the right answer obvious.

Question 18

What is the place of supply for freight and courier charges on goods?

Accepted Answer

For transportation of goods, including by courier, Section 12(8) fixes the place of supply as the location of the recipient where the recipient is registered. Where the recipient is unregistered, it is the location where the goods are handed over for transportation. So a registered Sembium manufacturer paying a transporter for a Chennai-to-Delhi movement has Tamil Nadu as the place of supply, and the RCM liability is paid as CGST plus SGST if the transporter is also in Tamil Nadu. This rule matters chiefly for paying reverse charge on GTA freight under the correct heads, because paying IGST where CGST and SGST were due creates a refund-and-repay exercise later.

Question 19

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 20

What documents are required for GST refund RFD-01 in Sembium?

Accepted Answer

For GST refund RFD-01 you will generally need: Export invoices and shipping bills, for export refund claims, FIRC or bank realisation certificates for export proceeds, Copy of LUT filed in RFD-11, for exports without payment of tax, GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B filed copies for the claim period, GSTR-2B and purchase invoices supporting input tax credit. The exact list depends on your constitution — proprietorship, partnership, LLP or company — and on the specifics of your case. Send what you have on WhatsApp to +91 - 9600 606 444 and we will confirm within the same working day exactly what else is needed, so nothing is rejected later for a missing paper.

Question 21

Do you provide gst refund application for small businesses and proprietorships in Sembium?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A large share of our clients in Sembium are proprietors, small traders, shop owners, freelancers and family businesses rather than large companies. The fee of Rs.4,999 and the process are the same regardless of size, and we explain the compliance position in plain language — in Tamil or English — so you understand what is being filed on your behalf and why.

Aspect	With ChennaiGST	DIY / Unattended
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.
When a notice arrives	A professional drafts the reply in the department's format and files it within the statutory window, such as thirty days for ASMT-11.	You face departmental language alone, and a missed reply deadline can convert a simple query into a demand with penalty.
Supplier defaults	Suppliers who stop uploading invoices are identified within the period and pursued before their default becomes your blocked credit.	Missing supplier invoices surface only when credit is denied, by which time recovering the amount from the vendor is difficult.
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.
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.
Portal credentials and data	Logins handled by a small engaged team under strict confidentiality, with credentials stored securely and never passed onward.	Passwords circulating on chats with freelancers and part-timers, and no accountability for who has accessed your business data.

GST Refund RFD-01 near Melpatti Ponappa Street, Sembium, Chennai

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Trade Profile and GST Jurisdiction for Melpatti Ponappa Street, Sembium

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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 Sembium

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GST Support on Melpatti Ponappa Street, Sembium

Recent GST Law You Should Know — relevant to Sembium businesses

Ladies hostel run from rented premises, with food, held taxable

Supreme Court upholds the pre-import condition for IGST exemption under advance authorisation

Compensation cess on pan masala and tobacco shifted to retail sale price

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