GST refund rejected in RFD-06: check the order, then decide on an appeal
Check whether the officer followed the notice, reply and hearing steps before rejecting your refund, see what recent High Court rulings say, and appeal within three months.
Before rejecting all or part of a refund, the officer must issue a notice in RFD-08 with reasons, allow 15 days to reply in RFD-09 and give you an opportunity to be heard. If you disagree with the final order in RFD-06, you can appeal to the Appellate Authority within three months of the order being communicated. CGST Rules, rule 92(3); CGST Act, section 107(1).
This guide is for a refund of accumulated input tax credit (ITC) on exports of services under LUT that has been rejected or reduced. If you have a deficiency memo (RFD-03) or a notice (RFD-08) that you have not yet answered, start with the RFD-03 and RFD-08 guide.
Gather the record first
Download from the portal and keep together:
- the RFD-08 notice, with its date of receipt;
- your RFD-09 reply and its acknowledgement;
- every hearing notice, and any request you made to change a hearing date;
- the RFD-06 order, with the date it was communicated to you;
- the application, Statement 3, Annexure B and the documents you filed with it.
The appeal deadline runs from the date the order was communicated, so record that date first.
Check the order against the notice
Rule 92(3) sets the steps: a notice stating why the officer considers the claim inadmissible, 15 days to reply, consideration of the reply, and a hearing before any rejection. High Courts have set aside refund rejections that missed one of these steps.
| Check | What courts have said |
|---|---|
| Does the RFD-08 state real reasons? | The Gujarat High Court set aside rejections where the notices gave the ground only as “other”: a vague notice cannot support the order, and a hearing does not cure it. ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, 24 November 2021 |
| Were you allowed 15 days to reply? | The Bombay High Court held a notice allowing seven days contrary to rule 92(3), and quashed the rejection. Golden Cryo, 12 March 2026 |
| Were you heard, including on a request to move the hearing? | The Bombay High Court quashed a rejection of an ITeS exporter’s claim passed without a hearing after the company asked to reschedule because of heavy rain. Infinx Services, 16 April 2026 |
| Does the decision rest only on grounds in the notice? | The Calcutta High Court set aside a rejection of an LUT export refund after the appellate stage added grounds that were not in the notice: the notice “forms the foundational basis of the entire proceeding”. Tirupati Vancom, 22 September 2026 |
| Was the claim rejected as time-barred through a deficiency memo? | The Madras High Court held that a deficiency memo cannot be issued on the ground that the application is time-barred; to reject a claim, the officer must issue a notice under rule 92(3). L.S. Pacific Wood Tech, 1 September 2026 |
| Does the order give a finding on each ground? | The Bombay High Court sent back a rejection that recorded no specific finding, for a reasoned order. Apollo India Services, 29 April 2026 |
In each of these cases the court set the order aside and sent the claim back for a fresh decision after a proper notice and hearing. None of them decided that the refund itself was payable. A procedural defect gets the claim reconsidered; the merits still have to be shown.
Abhishek Raja Ram summarised the Calcutta and Madras rulings on X.
Appeal to the Appellate Authority
An appeal against an RFD-06 order goes to the Appellate Authority:
- Form: file FORM GST APL-01 electronically with the relevant documents. The appeal counts as filed when the final acknowledgement is issued. CGST Rules, rule 108.
- Time limit: three months from the date the order was communicated. The Appellate Authority can allow one further month if you show sufficient cause for the delay. Section 107(1) and (4).
- Pre-deposit: section 107(6) requires payment of any admitted amount and 10% of the tax in dispute before an appeal. Have your adviser confirm what, if anything, applies to a refund rejection.
- Protection against a lower refund: the Appellate Authority cannot pass an order reducing the refund unless you have had a reasonable opportunity to show cause against it. Section 107(11), first proviso.
If the Appellate Authority’s order also goes against you, a further appeal lies to the GST Appellate Tribunal under section 112. Several of the rulings above came from writ petitions to a High Court instead; whether that route suits a case is a question for your lawyer.
Decide what to do with the rejected credit
For an amount rejected under rule 92, the debited ITC can be re-credited through PMT-03 only after the appeal is finally rejected or after you give a written undertaking not to appeal. Decide on the appeal before you sign an undertaking. The RFD-03 and RFD-08 guide explains the re-credit.
If the order was correct and the claim itself was wrong, a fresh claim for the period depends on the two-year time limit in section 54(1) and on what the order decided. Have that reviewed before you file again. A refund that is later paid after an appeal can carry interest; see interest on a delayed GST refund.
If the appeal succeeds, the refund is not paid automatically. You file a fresh RFD-01 for the amount allowed. See getting the refund paid after the appeal is allowed.