Appeal allowed against a GST refund rejection: file RFD-01 to get the refund paid

An order of the Appellate Authority in your favour does not pay the refund by itself. File a fresh RFD-01 under “On account of Assessment/Enforcement/Appeal/Revision/Any Other Order” for the amount the appeal allowed. The credit debited for your original claim is not debited again. CBIC Circular 111/30/2019-GST, paragraph 3; Circular 125/44/2019-GST, paragraph 24.

This guide is for a refund of accumulated input tax credit (ITC) on exports of services under LUT that an RFD-06 order rejected in whole or in part, and that the Appellate Authority then allowed in whole or in part. To check a rejection and file the appeal, see what to check in an RFD-06 rejection.

Read the appeal order before you file

Note three things from the order:

• The amount allowed under each tax head, and any amount that remains rejected.
• What the operative paragraph does: whether it sets aside the rejection on the grounds the officer gave, or also directs that the refund be paid.
• The date the order was communicated to you.

The wording decides how far the order protects you. In one case the appeal set aside a rejection of ₹3,44,469 “to the extent of the refund amount wrongly rejected on ground discussed”. On the fresh application, the officer rejected the claim again on other grounds. The Delhi High Court held that the appeal order “neither directed unconditional release of the refund amount nor foreclosed examination” of the claim on any other permissible ground. Karamsar Poultry Appliances v. Assistant Commissioner, Delhi High Court, 13 July 2026, paragraphs 6 and 9–10. GST DOST summarised the case on X and advised reading the operative paragraph, not only the words “appeal allowed”.

File within two years of the order

Where tax becomes refundable because of an order of the Appellate Authority, the Appellate Tribunal or a court, the two-year period for the refund application runs from the date the order was communicated. CGST Act, section 54(1) and Explanation 2(d). The portal does not check this limit. Keeping to it is your responsibility. GST portal: refund on account of an order, step 5.

File the application on the portal

Before you start, file every return that was due on or before the date you apply, including GSTR-3B for the period of the claim. The portal shows an error otherwise.

1. Log in at gst.gov.in and open Services → Refunds → Application for Refund.
2. Select On account of Assessment/Enforcement/Appeal/Revision/Any Other Order, then Create Refund Application.
3. In Select the type of Order, choose Appeal & Revision. In Select the type of appeal Order, choose Refund related appeal order.
4. Select whether the appeal order was passed online or offline. Enter the Order No.; the portal fills in the Order Date. Enter the Order Issuing Authority.
5. Enter the amount the appeal allowed under each tax head. For integrated tax, the portal also asks for a breakup by place of supply and will not save the form without it.
6. Select the bank account for the refund.
7. Upload the appeal order and the RFD-06 order that rejected the claim, with any other documents that support the amount. The portal accepts up to 10 documents of 5 MB each.
8. Preview the form, then file it with DSC or EVC. The portal generates an ARN.

GST portal: refund on account of an order, steps 2–22; Circular 111, paragraph 3.

The portal checks that the order number matches the type of appeal order you chose. This category needs no statement of invoices, and no ledger entry is posted when you file against a refund-related appeal order. GST portal: FAQ for this category, questions 2, 5 and 11. Keep the original application, its Statement 3 and Annexure B, and the appeal papers together, in case the officer asks for them.

What the officer does with the application

The officer sanctions the amount allowed in appeal in RFD-06 and issues the payment order in RFD-05. Any amount the appeal did not allow is re-credited to your electronic credit ledger, once you are not taking it further. Circular 111, paragraphs 4 and 5.

For example, with invented figures that follow the circular’s own example:

Step	Amount
Original claim, debited from the credit ledger	₹1,00,000
Sanctioned in the first RFD-06	₹70,000
Rejected in the first RFD-06, and appealed	₹30,000
Allowed by the Appellate Authority	₹10,000
Fresh RFD-01 under the appeal-order category	₹10,000
Re-credited to the credit ledger, if you do not appeal again	₹20,000

The ₹20,000 is re-credited once you give a written undertaking that you will not appeal further, or once a further appeal is finally rejected. CGST rule 93(2) and its Explanation; Circular 111, paragraph 5. Decide whether to take that amount to the GST Appellate Tribunal before you sign the undertaking.

The fresh application is processed like any refund. If the officer proposes to reject any part of it, you receive an RFD-08 notice and 15 days to reply in RFD-09, with an opportunity to be heard. CGST rule 92(3). The officer can also withhold the refund while a return is unfiled, or deduct tax, interest or penalty you owe that has not been stayed. CGST Act, section 54(10).

If the officer rejects the claim again

A fresh RFD-06 rejection is a new order, and you can appeal it within three months of its communication, as you did the first one. List each ground in the new order and mark the ones the appeal order already decided in your favour.

In the Karamsar case, the High Court held that the officer was not “precluded from examining the refund claim afresh on grounds distinct from those which stood negated by the Appellate Authority”. It declined to set the second rejection aside in a writ petition because an appeal under section 107 lay against it. It allowed the taxpayer to ask for the time spent in the High Court to be left out when computing the appeal deadline. Karamsar Poultry Appliances, paragraphs 10–14.

If the department appeals the order

The department can take the Appellate Authority’s order to the GST Appellate Tribunal. The Commissioner can direct an officer to apply within six months from the date the order was passed, or by a later date the government notifies. CGST Act, section 112(3). The appeal order is final and binding on both sides, subject to the Tribunal’s decision and any further appeal. Section 107(16).

To withhold a refund because of further proceedings, the Commissioner must follow section 54(11):

• The order giving rise to the refund is the subject of an appeal or further proceedings, or other proceedings under the Act are pending.
• The Commissioner is of the opinion that the refund is likely to adversely affect the revenue in those proceedings “on account of malfeasance or fraud committed”.
• You are given an opportunity of being heard.

If the refund is withheld and you finally succeed, you are entitled to interest at 6% a year. Section 54(11) and (12); rate in Notification 13/2017-Central Tax.

In ADV Industrial Services, an officer rejected a refund because the department had decided to challenge the appeal order before the Tribunal. The Telangana High Court held that “the mere decision to challenge the appellate order, or the subsequent filing of an appeal, did not amount to a stay or suspension” of it. No appeal was pending on the date of the rejection, the order recorded no opinion of the Commissioner, and the taxpayer was not heard. The court set the rejection aside and directed a fresh, reasoned order within four weeks, following section 54(11) if the department sought to withhold the refund. ADV Industrial Services v. Union of India, Telangana High Court, 8 September 2026, paragraphs 20, 32 and 42. That refund was of amounts paid during an investigation, after the appeal set aside the demand; it was not an export refund. CA Ram Bajaj summarised the ruling on X.

If an RFD-08 notice or a rejection cites a planned or pending departmental appeal, say in your reply which of the section 54(11) conditions is missing.

Interest on the refund

The officer orders any interest together with the payment. Section 56 treats a refund ordered by the Appellate Authority, the Tribunal or a court against the officer’s order as an order of the officer under section 54(5). Where the claim arises from an order that has become final and is not paid within 60 days of the application you file after it, interest is 9% a year from the end of those 60 days. CGST Act, section 56, its proviso and Explanation; rate in Notification 13/2017-Central Tax. For the rates, the start date and the days left out of the count, see interest on a delayed GST refund.

If you paid a pre-deposit

If the RFD-06 also confirmed a demand, for example to recover credit the officer held ineligible, the appeal needed a pre-deposit under section 107(6). Circular 125, paragraph 21. When the appeal is allowed, the pre-deposit is refunded with interest at the section 56 rate, from the date you paid it until the date of the refund. CGST Act, section 115.

Claim it in the same refund category, but choose Demand related appeal order. The portal asks for the Demand ID shown in Part II of the Electronic Liability Register and fills in the amount available for refund, which you can reduce but not increase. GST portal: refund on account of an order, steps 6–7. GSTN’s ledger FAQ says a refund of pre-deposit can be claimed against the Demand ID once the appeal is allowed, subject to adjustment against any amount you owe. GST portal: Electronic Liability Register FAQ, question 20.

The GST Council has recommended amending section 115 to set the interest rate on refunds of pre-deposit separately, and a circular on that rate. GST Council press release, 8 October 2026, paragraph 6.3. As of 23 October 2026, neither has been issued.

Records to keep

• The original RFD-01 with its ARN, Statement 3 and Annexure B.
• The RFD-08 notice, your RFD-09 reply and the RFD-06 order.
• The appeal in APL-01, its acknowledgement, the appeal order and the date it was communicated.
• The fresh RFD-01 with its ARN, and every later notice and order.
• Any undertaking you give for the re-credit, and any pre-deposit payment reference.