Text
The text below is the rule as served by the CBIC tax information portal on 17 September 2026, with the portal's own amendment footnote markers (shown as small numerals before a bracket) and its footnotes.[1] The Rules as published in the Gazette of India is the legal source.
Rule 90, verbatim (show)
Rule 90. Acknowledgement.-
(1) Where the application relates to a claim for refund from the electronic cash ledger, an acknowledgement in FORM GST RFD-02 shall be made available to the applicant through the common portal electronically, clearly indicating the date of filing of the claim for refund and the time period specified in sub-section (7) of section 54 shall be counted from such date of filing.
(2) The application for refund, other than claim for refund from electronic cash ledger, shall be forwarded to the proper officer who shall, within a period of fifteen days of filing of the said application, scrutinize the application for its completeness and where the application is found to be complete in terms of sub-rule (2), (3) and (4)of rule 89, an acknowledgement in FORM GST RFD-02 shall be made available to the applicant through the common portal electronically, clearly indicating the date of filing of the claim for refund and the time period specified in sub-section (7) of section 54 shall be counted from such date of filing.
(3) Where any deficiencies are noticed, the proper officer shall communicate the deficiencies to the applicant in FORM GST RFD-03 through the common portal electronically, requiring him to file a fresh refund application after rectification of such deficiencies.
1[Provided that the time period, from the date of filing of the refund claim in FORM GST RFD-01 till the date of communication of the deficiencies in FORMGST RFD-03 by the proper officer, shall be excluded from the period of two years as specified under subsection (1) of Section 54, in respect of any such fresh refund claim filed by the applicant after rectification of the deficiencies.]
(4) Where deficiencies have been communicated in FORM GST RFD-03 under the State Goods and Service Tax Rules, 2017, the same shall also deemed to have been communicated under this rule along with the deficiencies communicated under sub-rule (3).
1[(5) The applicant may, at any time before issuance of provisional refund sanction order in FORM GST RFD-04 or final refund sanction order in FORM GST RFD-06 or payment order in FORM GST RFD-05 or refund withhold order in FORM GST RFD-07 or notice in FORM GST RFD-08, in respect of any refund application filed in FORM GST RFD-01 , withdraw the said application for refund by filing an application in FORM GST RFD-01W.
(6) On submission of application for withdrawal of refund in FORM GST RFD-01W , any amount debited by the applicant from electronic credit ledger or electronic cash ledger, as the case may be, while filing application for refund in FORM GST RFD-01, shall be credited back to the ledger from which such debit was made.]
1. Inserted vide Notification No. 15/2021-CT dated 18.05.2021 .
Questions to answer on the file
Questions a reviewer answers from the engagement file, grouped by the part of the rule they come from. They describe what the rule asks; they do not decide it.
Cash-ledger acknowledgement 90(1)
Questions to answer on the file6 questions
Noncash application forwarding and scrutiny deadline 90(2)
Questions to answer on the file4 questions
Other refund acknowledgement 90(2)
Questions to answer on the file7 questions
Section 54 clock starting date 90(1) and (2)
Questions to answer on the file1 question
Deficiency communication and fresh application 90(3)
Questions to answer on the file7 questions
Deficiency-period exclusion for fresh claim 90(3) proviso
Questions to answer on the file4 questions
State deficiency deemed communication 90(4)
Questions to answer on the file1 question
Withdrawal before any listed issuance 90(5)
Questions to answer on the file7 questions
Withdrawal restoration to originating ledger 90(6)
Questions to answer on the file5 questions
Amendment history
The CBIC text carries 1 footnote. The table gives each in the source's own terms. Effective dates are as the footnotes state them.[1]
| Note | Change |
|---|---|
| 1 | Inserted vide Notification No. 15/2021-CT dated 18.05.2021.[2] |
Relationship with other provisions
| Provision | Connection | Words that tie them |
|---|---|---|
| Rule 89 | this provision requires Rule 89 | 90(2) "sub-rule (2), (3) and (4)of rule 89" |
| Section 54 of the CGST Act, 2017 | this provision requires Section 54 of the CGST Act, 2017 | 90(1) "sub-section (7) of section 54" |
Circulars and notifications
Circulars and notifications in the CBIC repository that cite this rule, newest first, by number, date and subject. A listing here does not say what an instrument decides; read the instrument.
Circulars (6)
| Number | Date | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| Circular No. 125/44/2019-GST | 18 November 2019 | Seeks to clarify the fully electronic refund process through FORM GST RFD-01 and single disbursement. amended by a later instrument |
| Circular No. 79/53/2018-GST | 31 December 2018 | Clarification on refund related issues. Rescinded vide Circular No. 125/44/2019 - GST dated 18.11.2019. rescinded by a later instrument |
| Circular No. 59/33/2018-GST | 4 September 2018 | Clarification on refund related issues. Rescinded vide Circular No. 125/44/2019 - GST dated 18.11.2019. rescinded by a later instrument |
| Circular No. 37/11/2018-GST | 15 March 2018 | Clarifications on exports related refund issues. Rescinded vide Circular No. 125/44/2019 - GST dated 18.11.2019. rescinded by a later instrument |
| Circular No. 17/17/2017-GST | 15 November 2017 | Manual filing and processing of refund claims in respect of zero-rated supplies. Rescinded vide Circular No. 125/44/2019 - GST dated 18.11.2019. rescinded by a later instrument |
| Circular No. 3/03/2017-GST | 5 July 2017 | Proper officer relating to provisions other than Registration and Composition under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017-Reg. |
Notifications (4)
| Number | Date | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| Notification No. 13/2025-Central Tax | 17 September 2025 | Seeks to notify the Central Goods and Services Tax (Third Amendment) Rules 2025. |
| Notification No. 15/2021-Central Tax | 18 May 2021 | Seeks to make fourth amendment (2021) to CGST Rules, 2017. |
| Notification No. 15/2017-Central Tax | 1 July 2017 | Amending CGST Rules notification 10/2017-CT dt 28.06.2017 |
| Notification No. 10/2017-Central Tax | 28 June 2017 | Seeks to amend CGST Rules notification no 3/2017-Central Tax dt 19.06.2017 amended by a later instrument |
Unsettled questions
The words of Rule 90 do not answer these questions. Where one decides a matter on the file, the answer depends on the position taken on it.
- Is the application complete in terms of Rule 89(2), (3) and (4)? The statute provides no mechanical measurement for this question.
- Does the limitation working exclude the period from that filing to that deficiency communication? The statute provides no mechanical measurement for this question.
See also
- Section 54 of the CGST Act, 2017: refund of tax
- Rule 89 of the CGST Rules, 2017: application for refund of tax, interest, penalty, fees or any other amount
References
- Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. "Rule 90. Acknowledgement". Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, CBIC tax information portal, with amendment footnotes 1 to 1. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
- Notification No. 15/2021-Central Tax, dated 18 May 2021: Seeks to make fourth amendment (2021) to CGST Rules, 2017. Cited in CBIC footnote 1.
External links
- CGST Rules, 2017, Rule 90 on the CBIC tax information portal