IntelliGST

1: Will duty Drawback scheme continue under GST regime? If yes, what will be the rates of Drawback?

Yes. Duty Drawback scheme with certain modifications will continue under the GST regime. The changes in the said scheme are as follows:
The Drawback shall be available only of Customs duties on imported inputs and Central Excise duty on items specified in the Fourth Schedule to the Central Excise Act 1944 (specified petroleum products, tobacco etc.) used as inputs or fuel for captive power generation.
As an export facilitation measure, for the transition period of 3 months, from July to September, 2017, Drawback at higher composite rates will continue to be granted subject to certain safeguards i.e. for claiming the higher rate of drawback, the exporter has to make a declaration and certificate is required that no Input Tax Credit (ITC) of CGST/IGST is claimed, no refund of IGST paid on export goods is claimed and no CENVAT credit is carried forward.
In absence of such certification, drawback will be restricted to the customs portion of drawback.

2: Is Drawback at a higher All Industry Rate (AIR) admissible if an exporter has not availed Input Tax Credit of GST or refund of IGST paid on exported goods ?

No. After 30th September 2017, drawback will be admissible only at lower rate determined on the basis of the custom duties paid on the goods imported for supplying goods for export.

3: If an exporter has stock of GST paid inputs as well as inputs from pre-GST period and if inputs from both lots are used in export goods, what shall be Drawback on such exports?

During the transition period upto 30th September 2017, exporters can avail drawback at higher rate subject to the conditions that no Input Tax Credit (ITC) of CGST/IGST is claimed, no refund of IGST paid on export goods is claimed and no CENVAT credit is carried forward.

4: Will brand rate of Drawback be admissible for Central Excise duty and Service Tax in respect of exports made prior to GST implementation, for which application is filed after 1st July 2017?

For the exports made prior to 1st July 2017, application for fixation of brand rate as per the Drawback scheme under the earlier law (defined as 'existing law' in section 2(48) of the CGST Act, 2017) can be filed even after 1st July 2017

5: Applications for fixation of brand rate used to be filed with jurisdictional Commissioner of Central Excise having jurisdiction over the factory where export goods were manufactured. Under GST regime, will there be any change regarding filing of application for fixation of brand rate?

With effect from 1st July 2017, applications for fixation of brand rate shall be filed with the Commissioner of Customs having jurisdiction over place of export of goods i.e the port/Airport/ICD etc. where Shipping Bill was filed. This shall be applicable even for exports made prior to 1st July 2017 for which application is yet to be filed. In case exports are from multiple places, application shall be filed with the Commissioner of Customs having jurisdiction over any one of the places of export of goods.

6: Is there also a change under the GST regime in respect of filing of application for fixation of brand rate of Drawback for supplies to SEZ units and SEZ Developers?

Prior to 1st July 2017, applications for fixation of brand rate for supplies to SEZ units and SEZ Developers used to be filed with the jurisdictional Commissioner of Central Excise. With effect from 1st July 2017, applications for fixation of brand rate will be required to be filed with the Commissioner of Customs having jurisdiction over the principal place of business of the DTA supplier. This shall be applicable even for exports made prior to 1st July 2017 for which application for fixation of brand rate is yet to be filed.

7: On re-export of imported goods, drawback of all duties paid at the time of importation was admissible earlier, as per the rates prescribed in this regard. What will be the position in respect of re-export made after 1st July 2017, of the goods imported prior to 1st July 2017? After 1st July 2017, IGST and Compensation Cess will also be payable on the imported goods. If such imported goods on which IGST and Compensation Cess were paid, are re-exported, whether Drawback of IGST and Compensation Cess will also be granted?

Drawback under Section 74 of the Customs Act, 1962 is available for duties paid at the time of importation. Therefore, whatever duties / taxes are paid at the time of importation of goods, Drawback of the same will be granted. Drawback of Basic Customs Duty plus Additional Duty of Customs (CVD) plus Special Additional Duty (SAD) paid on the goods imported prior to 1st July 2017 will be paid even if the re-export is made after 1st July 2017. Similarly, in respect of the goods imported after 1st July 2017, Basic Customs Duty plus IGST plus Compensation Cess will be paid and Drawback of all of these would be paid on re-export of such imported goods.

8: Under the GST regime, will benefit of exemption from all duties available under Advance authorization scheme, EPCG scheme and duty credit scrips such as Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) & Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS) will continue?

After 1st July 2017, the benefits under all the said schemes shall be restricted only to Basic Customs Duty, Safeguard Duty, Transitional Product Specific Safeguard Duty and Anti-dumping Duty in respect of goods leviable to IGST.
For items specified in the Fourth Schedule to the Central Excise Act, 1944 (specified petroleum products, tobacco etc.) exemption from Additional Duty leviable under Sections 3(1), 3(3) and 3(5) of the customs tariff act, 1975 shall be available.

9: Under GST regime, can we get duty free benefit (all duties exempted) if we import capital goods using EPCG authorization?

Only basic customs duty will be exempted on imports made under EPCG Authorization. The EPCG holder will have to pay IGST on import of capital goods and take Input Tax Credit.

10: Can duty credit scrips such as Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS) be used for payment of GST?

No. MEIS and SEIS scrip can be used only for payment of Basic Customs Duty or additional duties of Customs on items not covered under GST for imports under GST regime.

11: What will be exemptions available for various authorizations/scrips which have been issued prior to 1.7.2017 and remain unutilized on 1.7.2017?

No exemption under GST Law is provided. The EXIM scrips under the export incentive schemes of chapter 3 of FTP (for example MEIS and SEIS) can be utilised only for payment of Customs duties or additional duties of Customs, on items not covered by GST, at the time of import. The scrips cannot be utilized for payment of Integrated Tax and Compensation Cess. Similarly, scrips cannot be used for payment of CGST, SGST or IGST for domestic procurements.