Which GST refund period should I choose: monthly or combined?

You can claim for one tax period or combine successive periods, including periods across financial years. Choose the range before preparing your refund files: it determines which turnover and eligible ITC enter the calculation, and a later claim can prevent an ordinary claim for an earlier period.

This guide covers accumulated-ITC refunds on exports of services without payment of tax under LUT. It does not cover the separate refund of IGST paid on exports.

Can I combine months, quarters or financial years?

For a monthly filer, a single month or a continuous range of months can be used. Quarterly filers should work with their completed return quarters. Combining periods is called clubbing or bunching. Circular 125 allows successive periods; Circular 135 removed its former restriction against crossing a financial-year boundary. Circular 125, paragraph 8, Circular 135, paragraphs 2.4–2.5.

For example, March–May can be one claim. Keep April and all its relevant figures in the working, even if that month has no refund on its own. The GST FAQ expressly permits combining nil-refund periods with periods having a refund. GST portal FAQ, questions 4–6.

For QRMP filers, IFF reporting alone is insufficient. GSTN’s June 2025 clarification says the corresponding GSTR-3B must have been filed; do not include IFF invoices whose GSTR-3B is still due to be filed. GST Council newsletter, page 17.

Check earlier claims before choosing the next period

Download your filed RFD-01 applications and record their category, From/To periods, ARN and status. Include nil applications and claims handled by a previous accountant.

For this LUT refund category, paragraph 8 requires chronological filing: after filing a later period, you cannot ordinarily go back to an earlier period in the same category. A fresh application following a deficiency memo is an express exception. Circular 125, paragraph 8.

Do not file April–June first while leaving a possible January–March claim undecided. Likewise, do not select January–June if January–March is already covered by a filed claim. A missed claim needs its own review; relabelling its credit as current-period credit does not resolve it.

Statement 3 invoices also become locked after filing, subject to the portal’s stated deficiency-memo and withdrawal exceptions. Check earlier invoice usage, especially where payment arrives in instalments. GST portal manual: application notes.

Keep these dates separate

Date or period	What to record in your preparation sheet
Export invoice date	The original document date; do not change it to match a receipt
Service completion and payment dates	The facts used to calculate zero-rated service turnover, including advance adjustments
Purchase invoice date and GSTR-2B period	The original bill date and the statement where it actually appears
ITC-availment period	The filed GSTR-3B period in which eligible credit was taken
Refund claim period	The continuous range selected for RFD-01 and its computation

Under Rule 89(4), Net ITC concerns eligible inputs/input-services credit availed during the claim period. A purchase invoice can be older, but credit already availed before the selected range does not become new Net ITC merely because it remains in the ledger. Circular 125, paragraph 61.

Use the GSTR-2B period guide for purchase timing and the refund calculation guide for service receipts, advances and ledger limits.

Worked decision: credit in March, payment in May

All dates and amounts here are invented. Assume a monthly filer with no earlier claims involving these periods, qualifying completed service exports, no advances or domestic supplies, and sufficient eligible ledger balances.

Event	Fictional record
12 March 2026	Business receives an eligible input-service invoice
March GSTR-3B	₹5,400 ITC is availed, supported by the required purchase records
26 March 2026	Export service is completed and invoiced for ₹30,000
April 2026	No further turnover, receipts or ITC
8 May 2026	Full ₹30,000 export payment is received with supporting bank evidence

A May-only computation has ₹30,000 service-export turnover but no new Net ITC in this example. March’s ₹5,400 is an opening balance, so it cannot simply be added to May Net ITC.

A March–May computation includes both events: ₹30,000 turnover and ₹5,400 Net ITC. With 100% qualifying export turnover, the formula gives ₹5,400 before the ledger limits. The cross-year boundary does not prevent this continuous claim. This illustrates why period selection matters; combining periods will not always increase a refund.

Keep the original March invoice and May receipt dates. The Statement 3 example explains the supporting allocation sheet.

Does combining periods extend the two-year deadline?

No. Section 54(1) sets the ordinary two-year filing limit from the relevant date. For exported services, Explanation 2(c) distinguishes:

• Services completed before payment: the date qualifying payment is received in convertible foreign exchange, or INR where RBI permits it.
• Payment received in advance before the invoice: the invoice issue date.

The claim’s end month, purchase invoice date and later bank-certificate issue date are not universal substitutes. Check the relevant date for each applicable export transaction; do not use the newest receipt to refresh older transactions. CGST Act, section 54(1) and Explanation 2(c).

The portal warns that it does not validate this limitation for you. A successful upload therefore does not establish timely filing. GST portal manual.

Before finalising the range, confirm earlier claims, filed returns, invoice-to-receipt mapping, period-wise ITC and the earliest applicable deadline. Then use that same range throughout the refund claim pack. Review older or previously deficient claims separately before relying on any limitation exclusion.