CBIC Guidelines On Issuance Of Refund Orders And Post Audit Review

Recently, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) issued Instruction No. 03/2022 – GST dated 14 June 2022 (CBIC Instruction) prescribing guidelines and procedures to be followed in issuance of refund orders and post audit review, by the officers of the CBIC (‘Tax Department'). Noting the provisions pertaining to review of orders under Goods and Services Tax (‘GST'), the CBIC Instruction recognizes the divergent practises being followed by the Departmental Authorities across the country in sanctioning refund claims – where certain refund orders are speaking orders issued with detailed reasons, whereas others are non-speaking orders. To obviate this divergence and ensure consistency, the present CBIC Instruction seem to have been issued.