GST Council expedites refund processing: 90% of claims within 13 days

The GST Council has streamlined its refund process to provide faster relief to businesses. The Finance Ministry announced that the acknowledgment period for refund claims has been reduced to 10 days from the previous 15 days.

Under the new framework, businesses can now receive 90% of their claimed GST refunds within 13 days. This acceleration aims to improve cash flow for traders and manufacturers who file regular refund applications.

The change reflects the government's push to ease compliance burdens and support the business community. The shorter processing timeline is expected to reduce working capital constraints for enterprises across sectors reliant on GST input credit utilization.