Section 54 - Refund of tax

Finin2min Summary

In practical work, use this provision by first fixing the taxable event or procedural step, then connecting the facts to Chapter XI and the linked Rules, forms, notifications, circulars and State/UT GST law.

Bare Act / Law / Rules / Notifications

Section 54. Refund of tax.- ** (1) Any person claiming refund of any tax and interest, if any, paid on such tax or any other amount paid by him, may make an application before the expiry of two years from the relevant date in such form and manner as may be prescribed : Provided that a registered person, claiming refund of any balance in the electronic cash ledger in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (6) of section 49 , may claim such refund in 1 [such form and] manner as may be prescribed. (2) A specialised agency of the United Nations Organisation or any Multilateral Financial Institution and Organisation notified under the United Nations (Privileges and Immunities) Act, 1947 (46 of 1947), Consulate or Embassy of foreign countries or any other person or class of persons, as notified under section 55 , entitled to a refund of tax paid by it on inward supplies of goods or services or both, may make an application for such refund, in such form and manner as may be prescribed , before the expiry of 1 [two years] from the last day of the quarter in which such supply was received. (3) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (10), a registered person may claim refund of any unutilised input tax credit at the end of any tax period: Provided that no refund of unutilised input tax credit shall be allowed in cases other than- (i) zero rated supplies made without payment of tax; (ii) where the credit has accumulated on account of rate of tax on inputs being higher than the rate of tax on output supplies (other than nil rated or fully exempt supplies), except supplies of goods or services or both as may be notified by the Government on the recommendations of the Council: 9 [****] Provided also that no refund of input tax credit shall be allowed, if the supplier of goods or services or both avails of drawback in ...

Workflow / Flow Chart

1. Read the official statutory text of Section 54 with Chapter XI and note every proviso or explanation.

Q&A

What does Section 54 cover?

Section 54 covers refund of tax within Chapter XI of the CGST Act.

Can this page replace the official Act?

No. Use this page as a practical guide, then verify Section 54 in India Code, CBIC and any applicable Gazette notification.

What should be retained for Section 54?

Keep the official source, fact matrix, invoices or returns, portal acknowledgements, calculations, correspondence, notices/orders and reviewer conclusion.

Primary Official Sources

• India Code consolidated CGST Act PDFofficial consolidated Act PDF used for statutory cross-check
• CBIC Tax Information Act explorerofficial CBIC section explorer route
• GST Council Central GST resourcesofficial GST Council route for central GST law resources
• CBIC official section content payloadofficial CBIC section HTML payload used for the statutory extract

Related Inter / Intra Links

Section 54 should be read inside the wider GST law hub with CGST Rules, GST forms, circulars, notifications, case-law and practical workflow pages.

Disclaimer

Finin2min provides this Section 54 page for education and professional research. Official India Code, CBIC, Gazette and court sources control the legal position for Refund of tax.