GST refund documents for software exporters: a preparation checklist

Start with five things: your LUT, filed returns, export invoices matched to bank evidence, purchase records, and a refund calculation tied to the credit ledger. Use the checklist below to assemble a pack that you or your CA can review before preparing RFD-01.

This guide covers a GST-registered software freelancer or agency claiming unutilised ITC on exports of services without payment of tax under LUT. First establish that the supplies qualify as exports of services; the documents below support that assessment and the claim.

What should I collect?

Create one folder for the proposed claim period and an index with File name | What it supports | Missing item or difference | Person resolving it.

Collect	Include	Check before handing it over
Claim details and LUT	GSTIN, proposed months, relevant financial year’s RFD-11 acknowledgement and reference	The entity, LUT year and proposed period are clear.
Filed returns	GSTR-1 including relevant amendments; GSTR-3B; relevant GSTR-2B downloads	Use filed records. Keep each return period visible.
Export invoices	Invoice register, invoice copies and related debit/credit notes	Numbers, dates and values agree with the filed outward-supply records, or differences are listed.
Export receipts	BRC/FIRC, bank advice and invoice-to-receipt allocation	Identify partial payments, advances, fees and receipts covering several invoices.
Purchase records	Supplier invoices, debit/credit notes and purchase register	Identify input services, inputs and capital goods separately; record the period ITC was availed.
ITC reconciliation	Invoice-level comparison with GSTR-2B where applicable, GSTR-3B ITC and reversals	Explain missing invoices, blocked credit, reversals and amounts excluded from the refund.
Credit ledger and earlier claims	Electronic Credit Ledger for the relevant dates; previous RFD-01s, statements, orders and re-credit records	Check available balances and whether any invoice or credit has already formed part of a claim.
Calculation	Export-service turnover, adjusted total turnover, Net ITC and ledger-limit working	Every total has a supporting schedule; the final claim is not simply all GST on purchases.

This is a preparation pack, so some records are for reconciliation and review rather than separate mandatory uploads. The legal statement and supporting-document framework is in CBIC Circular 125/44/2019-GST, Annexure A, read with later amendments and the current portal workflow.

Which documents commonly need extra work?

Bank evidence: an accounting entry marked “paid” does not establish the receipt evidence needed for a service-export refund. CBIC specifically requires BRC/FIRC details for services and recognises realisation in convertible foreign exchange or INR where RBI permits it. Keep the bank evidence alongside an allocation explaining which invoice it settles. Circular 125, paragraph 48. See the Statement 3 worked example for a practical mapping.

Overseas software or advertising purchases: where an import of services is liable to reverse charge, collect the foreign supplier’s bill, applicable self-invoice/payment voucher, payment evidence and the return working for tax paid and ITC availed. Imported-service reverse-charge credit does not appear in GSTR-2B; its absence there is expected. GST portal: GSTR-2B FAQ. Follow the separate imported-services and self-invoice guide for the tax steps.

Equipment: keep the invoice and accounting classification for a laptop, inverter or other business asset. Capital-goods ITC is excluded from Net ITC under this refund route even where normal ITC is eligible. See Rule 89(4)’s Net ITC definition and how to report capital goods without adding them to the refund.

GSTR-2B timing: record both the invoice date and the period in which the invoice appears in GSTR-2B. Do not overwrite one to match the other. Use the GSTR-2B period guide when those periods differ.

What do these records become in RFD-01?

Read how Statement 3 differs from Annexure B to separate export evidence from purchase credit before preparing the statements.

Claim component	Prepared from
Statement 3	Export documents and BRC/FIRC details
Annexure B	Inward-supply details, classifications, ITC eligibility and reversals
Refund calculation / Statement 3A	Turnover schedules and qualifying Net ITC, checked against credit-ledger limits
Supporting attachments and declarations	Receipt evidence and other applicable documents; declarations reviewed for this claim

The current portal manual provides separate offline utilities and JSON uploads for Statement 3 and Annexure B, followed by the refund computation, bank selection, supporting documents and declarations. A collection of PDFs or one JSON file is not the complete application. GST portal: export-without-payment refund manual.

Before filing, check that the applicable returns are filed, the claim is within the statutory time limit, and overlapping earlier claims have been resolved. The portal warns that it does not validate the statutory limitation date for you. Download the RFD-01 preview and compare it with your working before signing. GST portal: prerequisites and filing checks.

Your pack is ready for review when each claimed amount can be traced to its source and each unresolved difference has an explicit question. Continue with what the actual refund claim contains to assemble the filing in order.

If you are deciding how to prepare the files, compare the five best-fit GST refund tools and workflows after the source pack is complete.