GST Export Refunds: Reconcile Invoices, LUT and Receipts

Three export invoices total ₹8 lakh, while the receipt register records ₹7.5 lakh; investigate timing and charges. The useful result is a working that explains the facts, the calculation or classification, and the evidence behind the conclusion. This guide shows how to prepare that working and where a reviewer should investigate before accepting the result.

Scope and applicable period

Indian GST; apply the law, notification and return version for the transaction’s own period. The worked figures are illustrative, not a declaration of a newly notified rate.

Verification date: 11 October 2026. Figures and rates identified as assumptions are teaching examples; apply the stated conditions and the actual facts to a real assignment.

The key principle

An overseas customer does not automatically make a transaction an export. Goods and services have different statutory export conditions and documentary trails. Choose the correct refund route before assembling the claim: a goods shipping trail differs from a service invoice and receipt trail. An LUT concerns the permitted supply route; it is not evidence that every transaction satisfies export conditions or qualifies for refund.

Worked example

Suppose ₹20,000 represents documented bank charges and ₹30,000 is still outstanding. Show both separately rather than reducing sales to the net remittance. Establish the contractual and statutory treatment of each difference and the receipt evidence needed for the chosen refund route. Match invoice identifiers consistently across books, returns and shipping or service documents. Calculate the eligible refund from the prescribed working, not from the customer's remittance alone.

A practical sequence

Maintain separate goods and services refund populations. For goods, trace export invoices to shipping evidence and the applicable refund route.

For services, test the statutory export conditions and reconcile the permitted receipt evidence. Link the LUT where relevant without treating it as a substitute for export eligibility.

Reconcile turnover, tax and credit to the application and returns. Isolate unreceived amounts or missing documents so that the claim does not include unsupported transactions.

Keep transaction facts and return treatment separate

GST work involves several linked questions: what was supplied, which registration is involved, when liability arises, how it is valued and whether credit is available. A correct accounting entry does not answer all of them. Build the working at invoice level wherever practical, with transaction dates and document references. Reconcile values and tax separately, including amendments and reversals. When a rule or rate changes, use the notified effective date and conditions for the actual transaction; a Council recommendation or a software master update is not, by itself, the legal commencement of the change.

Evidence checklist

Keep the following records linked to the same entity, period and working version. Identify missing items explicitly; a checked box should mean the document was examined and supports the stated conclusion.

• Export contracts and invoices
• LUT or tax-payment route evidence
• Goods shipping documents or service-delivery evidence
• Currency-wise bank receipt and charge records
• Refund statement, return references and acknowledgements

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

• Equating an overseas address with an export. Compare the conclusion with the export contracts and invoices and resolve any conflicting facts.
• Netting bank charges against sales without a bridge. Trace the affected item to the goods shipping documents or service-delivery evidence before finalising the working.
• Combining goods and service evidence requirements. Use the refund statement, return references and acknowledgements to make the final position and remaining exceptions clear.

Before you finalise

Recheck the example’s assumptions against the actual assignment, resolve the identified exceptions and make the final figure or conclusion traceable to its source. Preserve the reviewed version and the reason for material changes. For this task, the refund statement, return references and acknowledgements should agree with the conclusion presented to the client, reviewer or authority.

Frequently asked question

Can one invoice register support both export routes? A common index can help, but attach and test the route-specific documents and conditions separately.

Sources and further reading

• CBIC — Rule 89, refund application
• CBIC — IGST Act, Section 12 domestic service rules

Related guide: Gst place of supply services domestic invoice scenarios.