GST Refund Stuck? File RTI to Unlock Your Refund

Part of the Pillar 4 — Money & Schemes pillar.

Part of Pillar 1 — RTI for Daily Life Problems. See also RTI for income-tax refund delay.

GST refunds get stuck on:

• Deficiency memo (RFD-03) not served to the taxpayer.
• Provisional refund (RFD-04) granted but final adjudication pending.
• Zero-rated export refund held on procedural grounds.
• Inverted-duty refund requiring invoice re-mapping.
• Pre-audit / Audit (RFD-08 Show-Cause) triggered but not communicated.
• Interest under Section 56 not computed.

• Refund pending >60 days from complete application filing.
• RFD-03 deficiency memo received but no follow-up.
• SCN issued without specific ground.
• Refund sanctioned (RFD-06) but not credited to bank.

• ARN (Application Reference Number) current status in GSTN.
• Deficiency memo details and the specific clause invoked.
• Officer handling the case (Superintendent / AC / JC).
• Pre-audit observations.
• SCN copy if issued.
• Interest calculation under Section 56.
• Payment-release date and bank IFSC.

• Central GST refund → CBIC CPIO via rtionline.gov.in → Department of Revenue.
• State GST refund → State Commercial Taxes Department via state RTI portal.
• For export refunds, the Central CGST Commissionerate of the exporter's principal place of business.

Rs. 10 filing; BPL free. 30 days reply.

To,
The Central/State Public Information Officer,
Office of the [Assistant Commissioner / Joint Commissioner], GST Division,
[Division name], [Commissionerate / State]

Subject: Information under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act, 2005, regarding my GST refund application.

Sir/Madam,

I, [Name], [GSTIN], [Principal Place of Business], submit:

ARN: ________
RFD-01 filing date: ________
Type of refund (Zero-rated / Inverted / Excess / Export / Other): ________
Period for which refund claimed: ________

Please provide:

1. Current status of my refund application in GSTN, with the specific stage (document review / pre-audit / sanctioned / paid).
2. If RFD-03 deficiency memo has been issued, a certified copy with date and grounds.
3. Name, designation, and posting of the officer currently handling the file.
4. Pre-audit observations recorded in the file.
5. Copy of any SCN issued under RFD-08, with the specific ground.
6. If refund has been sanctioned, the sanction-order number, date, and bank IFSC + UTR of payment.
7. Interest calculation under Section 56 of the CGST Act, 2017 (if applicable).
8. Estimated date of release, if pending.
9. Average turnaround at this Division for similar applications in the last 6 months.
10. First Appellate Authority contact.

I enclose Indian Postal Order No. __________ for Rs. 10.
I declare I am an Indian citizen.

Yours faithfully,
[Signature, Date, Place]

1. GSTN portal status.
2. RFD-03 deficiency memo.
3. Officer name.
4. Pre-audit observations.
5. SCN copy.
6. Sanction-order number.
7. Payment UTR.
8. Interest calculation under Section 56.
9. ETA of release.
10. FAA contact.

• Day 0–10 RTI acknowledged.
• Day 10–25 File pulled; often sanctioned during this window.
• Day 30 Reply mandatory.
• Day 30+ First Appeal.

• Filing at CBIC HQ instead of the jurisdictional Commissionerate.
• Not quoting the ARN.
• Asking “why is refund delayed?” — ask for the record instead.
• Missing Section 56 interest claim.

• Section 56 interest accrues at 6% p.a. after 60 days; mention it.
• For export refunds, attach shipping-bill / EGM reference in the RTI.
• For inverted-duty claims, mention the HSN-pair; speeds up file retrieval.
• Parallel CPGRAMS complaint at cbic.gov.in helps escalate.

Q1. Is RTI effective against GSTN glitches?
Yes. GSTN is operated by the government; RTI surfaces the back-end log the officer is viewing.

Q2. Can I file RTI before 60 days?
Yes, but the statutory delay ground kicks in on Day 61.

Q3. What about refund rejected on “verification”?
RTI Question 2 extracts the RFD-03; the clause cited must be specific.

Q4. Can I claim interest separately?
Yes — under Section 56; ask for the worksheet in Question 7.

GST refund delays follow a pattern: deficiency memo, pre-audit, sanction. RTI makes the pattern visible, and sanctioning officers prefer closing the file over writing a reasoned delay note.

• RTI for income-tax refund
• Pillar 1 — Daily Life
• File RTI online
• Section 7 — reply deadline

• CGST Act, 2017, Sections 54, 56
• CBIC Circulars on refund processing

Last reviewed: 21 April 2026.