Amendment of section 54.
112. In section 54 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, ––
(a) in sub-section (1), in the proviso, for the words and figures “the return furnished under section 39 in such”, the words “such form and” shall be substituted;
(b) in sub-section (2), for the words “six months”, the words “two years” shall be substituted;
(c) in sub-section (10), the words, brackets and figure “under sub-section (3)” shall be omitted;
(d) in the Explanation, in clause (2), after sub-clause (b), the following sub-clause shall be inserted, namely:––
“(ba) in case of zero-rated supply of goods or services or both to a Special Economic Zone developer or a Special Economic Zone unit where a refund of tax paid is available in respect of such supplies themselves, or as the case may be, the inputs or input services used in such supplies, the due date for furnishing of return under section 39 in respect of such supplies;”.
Notes on Clauses:
Clause 112 seeks to amend proviso to sub-section (1) of section 54 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act so as to explicitly provide that claim of refund of any balance in the electronic cash ledger shall be made in such form and manner as may be prescribed.
It further seeks to amend sub-section (2) so as to align it with sub-section (1) by providing time limit of two years from the last day of the quarter in which the supply was received for claiming refund of tax paid on inward supplies of goods or services or both by the person specified in the said sub-section.
It also seeks to amend sub-section (10) so as to extend the scope of the said sub-section to all types of refund claims.
It also seeks to insert a new sub-clause (ba) in clause (2) of Explanation in order to provide clarity regarding the relevant date for filing refund claim in respect of supplies made to a Special Economic Zone developer or a Special Economic Zone unit.
