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Rule 96B of the CGST Rules, 2017

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GST›CGST Rules, 2017›Chapter X, Refund

At a glance

Entitlement and conditions

96B(1) provisoThe non-recovery exception requires the Reserve Bank of India to write off the realisation requirement on merits.
96B(2)A refund of amounts recovered is limited to proceeds subsequently realised within the extended period permitted by the Reserve Bank of India. Evidence must be produced within three months from realisation.

Bars, duties and time limits

96B(1)A recipient of an export refund of unutilised input tax credit or integrated tax must deposit the portion corresponding to unrealised sale proceeds, with applicable interest, within thirty days after the permitted period or its extension expires.

Procedure, powers and definitions

96B(1)Failure to deposit triggers recovery as an erroneous refund under section 73, section 74 or section 74A, as applicable, with interest under section 50.

Rule 96B links specified export refunds to realisation of sale proceeds within the permitted foreign exchange period. It requires repayment proportionate to unrealised proceeds, with interest, and provides for recovery on default. An exception applies where the Reserve Bank of India writes off realisation on merits. A later refund of recovered amounts depends on timely evidence and realisation within an approved extended period.^[1]

Quick facts

Rule 96B, CGST Rules, 2017

Recovery of refund of unutilised input tax credit or integrated tax paid on export of goods where export proceeds not realised

Provision
Act	Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017
Chapter	X, Refund
Rule title	Recovery of refund of unutilised input tax credit or integrated tax paid on export of goods where export proceeds not realised
Amendments
Last amendment	1 November 2024: Substituted (w.e.f. 01.11.2024) vide Notification No. 20/2024-CT dated 08.10.2024.
Amendments	2 footnotes in the CBIC text (table)
Related provisions
Sections	Section 50 of the CGST Act, 2017, Section 73 of the CGST Act, 2017, Section 74 of the CGST Act, 2017, Section 74A of the CGST Act, 2017
Structure 96B(1)Refund paid with unrealised goods sale proceeds 96B(1)Deposit within thirty days 96B(1)Recovery after failure to deposit 96B(1) provisoRefund shall not be recovered after merits write-off 96B(2)Evidence of later realisation within three months 96B(2)Refund to the extent of later realisation
Source
Law text	CBIC tax information portal, served on 17 September 2026^[1]

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 96B, verbatim (show)

Rule 96B

¹[Rule 96B. Recovery of refund of unutilised input tax credit or integrated tax paid on export of goods where export proceeds not realised .-

(1) Where any refund of unutilised input tax credit on account of export of goods or of integrated tax paid on export of goods has been paid to an applicant but the sale proceeds in respect of such export goods have not been realised , in full or in part, in India within the period allowed under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (42 of 1999), including any extension of such period, the person to whom the refund has been made shall deposit the amount so refunded, to the extent of non- realisation of sale proceeds, along with applicable interest within thirty days of the expiry of the said period or, as the case may be, the extended period, failing which the amount refunded shall be recovered in accordance with the provisions of ²[ Normal 0

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section 73 or section 74 or section 74A] of the Act, as the case may be, as is applicable for recovery of erroneous refund, along with interest under section 50:

Provided that where sale proceeds, or any part thereof, in respect of such export goods are not realised by the applicant within the period allowed under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (42 of 1999), but the Reserve Bank of India writes off the requirement of realisation of sale proceeds on merits, the refund paid to the applicant shall not be recovered.

(2) Where the sale proceeds are realised by the applicant, in full or part, after the amount of refund has been recovered from him under sub-rule (1) and the applicant produces evidence about such realisation within a period of three months from the date of realisation of sale proceeds, the amount so recovered shall be refunded by the proper officer, to the applicant to the extent of realisation of sale proceeds, provided the sale proceeds have been realised within such extended period as permitted by the Reserve Bank of India.]

1. Inserted vide Notification No. 16/2020 CT dated 23.03.2020.

2. Substituted (w.e.f. 01.11.2024) vide Notification No. 20/2024-CT dated 08.10.2024.

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.

Refund paid with unrealised goods sale proceeds 96B(1)

Questions to answer on the file4 questions

Has the refund actually been paid to this applicant?
Which of the two export-goods refund routes produced this payment: unutilised input tax credit or integrated tax paid?
Were the goods proceeds wholly or partly unrealised in India at the applicable FEMA expiry?
Has RBI written off this realisation requirement on merits?

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Deposit within thirty days 96B(1)

Questions to answer on the file8 questions

What is the applicable FEMA receipt-limit expiry date for these goods, including extension?
What is the last date of the thirty-day deposit period?
What was the actual deposit date for this refund obligation?
What refund principal corresponds to the unrealised goods proceeds in the linked working?
Does the linked allocation establish that principal to the extent of non-realisation?
What applicable interest amount is evidenced for this deposit?
Is the applicable interest working correct for this obligation?
What total amount was actually deposited for this obligation?

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Recovery after failure to deposit 96B(1)

Questions to answer on the file7 questions

Has the refund actually been paid?
Were goods proceeds unrealised at the FEMA expiry?
Has the deposit period expired at the evidenced observation date?
Did the person fail to deposit the required principal with applicable interest within that period?
Has RBI written off the same proceeds requirement on merits?
Does the recovery follow the applicable erroneous-refund demand provisions?
Does the recovery include applicable section 50 interest?

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Refund shall not be recovered after merits write-off 96B(1) proviso

Questions to answer on the file3 questions

Has this refund actually been paid?
Were the goods proceeds unrealised within the applicable FEMA period?
Has RBI written off the same realisation requirement on merits?

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Evidence of later realisation within three months 96B(2)

Questions to answer on the file8 questions

Was the refund actually recovered under subrule(1)?
On what date was that amount recovered?
On what date were the same goods proceeds later realised in full or part?
On what date did the applicant produce evidence of that realisation?
What is the documented three-calendar-month evidence deadline from that realisation?
Is that three-month calendar endpoint correct for this realisation date?
What extended-period expiry did RBI permit for these proceeds?
If recovery and realisation occurred on the same calendar date, did the actual realisation occur after recovery?

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Refund to the extent of later realisation 96B(2)

Questions to answer on the file6 questions

What principal had been recovered from this applicant for the same refund?
What recovered principal corresponds to the later realised proceeds?
Does the linked attribution establish the amount attributable to this later realisation?
What refund principal was actually received for this later-refund event?
Was this later refund made by the proper officer?
Was this later refund made to the same applicant?

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Amendment history

The CBIC text carries 2 footnotes. The table gives each in the source's own terms. Effective dates are as the footnotes state them.^[1]

Amendments to Rule 96B as footnoted in the CBIC text
Note	Change
1	Inserted vide Notification No. 16/2020 CT dated 23.03.2020.^[2]
2	Substituted (w.e.f. 01.11.2024) vide Notification No. 20/2024-CT dated 08.10.2024.^[3]

Provisions connected to Rule 96B
Provision	Connection	Words that tie them
Section 50 of the CGST Act, 2017	this provision requires Section 50 of the CGST Act, 2017	96B(1) "interest under section 50"
Section 73 of the CGST Act, 2017	this provision requires Section 73 of the CGST Act, 2017	96B(1) "section 73"
Section 74 of the CGST Act, 2017	this provision requires Section 74 of the CGST Act, 2017	96B(1) "section 74"
Section 74A of the CGST Act, 2017	this provision requires Section 74A of the CGST Act, 2017	96B(1) "section 74A"

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.

Notifications (4)

Number	Date	Subject
Notification No. 20/2024-Central Tax	8 October 2024	Seeks to make amendments (Second Amendment 2024) to the CGST Rules, 2017
Notification No. 12/2024-Central Tax	10 July 2024	Seeks to make amendments (Amendment, 2024) to the CGST Rules, 2017.
Notification No. 35/2021-Central Tax	24 September 2021	Seeks to make amendments (Eighth Amendment, 2021) to the CGST Rules, 2017. amended by a later instrument
Notification No. 16/2020-Central Tax	23 March 2020	Seeks to make third amendment (2020) to CGST Rules.

See also

Section 50 of the CGST Act, 2017: interest on delayed payment of tax
Section 73 of the CGST Act, 2017: determination of tax not paid or short paid or erroneously refunded or input tax credit wrongly availed or utilised for any reason other than fraud or any willful-misstatement or suppression of facts
Section 74 of the CGST Act, 2017: determination of tax not paid or short paid or erroneously refunded or input tax credit wrongly availed or utilised by reason of fraud or any willful-misstatement or suppression of facts
Section 74A of the CGST Act, 2017: determination of tax not paid or short paid or erroneously refunded or input tax credit wrongly availed or utilised for any reason pertaining to Financial Year 2024-25 onward

References

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. "Rule 96B. Recovery of refund of unutilised input tax credit or integrated tax paid on export of goods where export proceeds not realised". Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, CBIC tax information portal, with amendment footnotes 1 to 2. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
Notification No. 16/2020-Central Tax, dated 23 March 2020: Seeks to make third amendment (2020) to CGST Rules. Cited in CBIC footnote 1.
Notification No. 20/2024-Central Tax, dated 8 October 2024: Seeks to make amendments (Second Amendment 2024) to the CGST Rules, 2017. Cited in CBIC footnote 2.

External links

CGST Rules, 2017, Rule 96B on the CBIC tax information portal