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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →First identify exactly what the GST authority has issued: an RFD-08 refund notice, a final refund rejection order, or a demand or show-cause notice. The response and deadline depend on that document. Then check the authority’s stated reason against the actual legal relationship between the Indian supplier and the overseas recipient: under India’s IGST Act, services between establishments of the same legal person generally do not meet the export definition, even if payment comes from abroad.
Start by identifying the document and its deadline
Download the full communication and any attachments; do not rely on a portal status alone. Record the form number, issuing authority, tax period, date and method of communication, amount involved, and the relief or response requested. The document determines which procedure applies.
| What you received | What it means | Immediate action |
|---|---|---|
| Refund notice, such as Form GST RFD-08 | The officer is proposing to treat some or all of the refund claim as inadmissible. It is not the final refund decision. | Prepare a reply in Form GST RFD-09 within 15 days of receipt of the notice. See the CBIC refund rules. |
| Final refund rejection order | The refund claim has been decided against you. The order and its communication date matter for appeal timing. | Review the order, identify each finding to challenge, and promptly assess a first appeal under section 107. See the CGST Act, section 107. |
| Demand or show-cause notice | The authority is raising a tax or other liability rather than merely deciding a refund claim. | Follow the response procedure and deadline stated in that notice and the applicable law. Do not assume the refund-notice or appeal timetable applies. |
Preserve the original communication, proof of when and how it was received, portal submission acknowledgements, attachments, and any hearing record. A GST practitioner or Indian tax lawyer can review the actual document and determine the correct response route.
Check whether the service can legally qualify as an export
Foreign-currency receipt by itself does not make a service an export. Section 2(6) of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (IGST Act) sets five cumulative conditions. The service must be supplied by a supplier in India to a recipient outside India; its place of supply must be outside India; payment must meet the statutory receipt condition; and the supplier and recipient must not merely be establishments of a distinct person under section 8. If any required condition is not met, the service does not satisfy the statutory export definition.
The branch issue turns on legal identity, not simply the countries involved or the names printed on an invoice. Section 8 treats an establishment in India and another establishment outside India of the same person as distinct persons for IGST Act purposes. It also treats a person carrying on business through a branch, agency, or representative office in a territory as having an establishment there. Section 2(6)(v) excludes from export treatment a service where the supplier and recipient are merely establishments of a distinct person.
| Structure to verify | Why it matters | What to establish |
|---|---|---|
| Indian branch and overseas head office or branch of the same legal person | The distinct-establishment condition is generally an obstacle to treating the service as an export. | Confirm that both locations are establishments of the same legal person, rather than separate companies. The controlling provisions are in the IGST Act, sections 2(6) and 8. |
| Indian-incorporated company and separately incorporated foreign group company | A group relationship alone does not make the companies the same legal person or automatically resolve the export question. | Confirm the supplier and recipient named in the operative agreement and their legal status, then test all five export conditions. The GST Council meeting materials distinguish a subsidiary from a branch. |
Do not assume every service to a foreign group company is barred, or that a foreign address or group brand proves the recipient is a separate entity. Establish the legal supplier and recipient from corporate and contractual records before framing the response.
Respond to an RFD-08 notice
Under the CBIC refund rules, when an officer considers a refund claim wholly or partly inadmissible, the officer issues Form GST RFD-08 and seeks a reply in Form GST RFD-09. The reply is due within 15 days of receipt of the notice. The officer considers the reply before making an order, and the rules require a reasonable opportunity of being heard before rejecting a refund application. See the CGST refund rules.
- Calendar the date from receipt. Save evidence of when the RFD-08 reached you and calculate the 15-day response period from that date. Do not wait for a portal reminder.
- Address the notice’s actual grounds. Separate an objection about same-person establishments from objections about place of supply, payment, recipient identity, service characterization, or export documentation. Respond to each finding and identify any point the authority has misunderstood.
- Attach evidence that supports the disputed facts. Use concise, indexed documents and explain what each one establishes. A bare assertion that the service was rendered abroad or paid for in foreign currency does not answer an identity objection.
- Request and attend a hearing where appropriate. Keep the hearing request, notices, submissions, and record of what occurred. If the officer rejects the claim, obtain and review the final order rather than treating the notice or an online status as the final decision.
If the refund is finally rejected, assess an appeal promptly
Section 107(1) of the CGST Act generally gives three months from communication of the decision or order to appeal to the Appellate Authority. Under section 107(4), the authority may allow a further month if sufficient cause is shown. These are general statutory periods; check the actual order, the current law, and the applicable filing requirements immediately. The CBIC appeal rules address appeal procedure.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallBuild the appeal around the order’s findings, not only the original refund application. Identify the relevant legal and factual error for each finding, support the alternative facts with documents, and verify the correct forum and filing requirements with an adviser. A favorable argument on payment, place of supply, or another export condition will not by itself overcome a distinct-establishment finding if the parties are in fact establishments of the same legal person.
Assemble a record that answers the disputed questions
There is no single official exhaustive evidence checklist for every branch-services dispute. Organize records around the statutory conditions and the authority’s stated reasons; include only material relevant to the transaction and period at issue.
- Legal identity and structure: incorporation records, branch registrations, group structure documents, relevant tax registrations, and agreements showing who contracted as supplier and recipient.
- Service and recipient: service agreements and statements of work, invoices, work product, performance records, and correspondence showing who requested, directed, and received the service.
- Place of supply and payment: records relevant to where the service was supplied under the applicable rules, together with payment and remittance evidence and the relevant accounting entries.
- Procedure: the authority’s communication, date-of-receipt evidence, refund application and attachments, RFD-09 submission receipt, hearing documents, and final order if one has been issued.
Keep the legal-identity question distinct from the evidence of service performance and payment. The latter may support other export conditions, but does not establish that a branch and head office are separate legal persons.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Use official examples carefully
CBIC’s sectoral FAQ gives a banking example: services supplied by an Indian bank or an Indian branch of a foreign bank to its offshore branch or head office, where the services are not intermediary services or services to account holders, are described as inter-State supplies between distinct establishments rather than exports. It is an official illustration for that banking context, not a substitute for analyzing a different service and structure. See CBIC Sectoral FAQ, question 54.
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Circular No. 202/14/2023-GST, dated 27 October 2023, concerns the payment condition in section 2(6)(iv); it should not be treated as a change to the distinct-establishment rule. The circular is listed in the GST Council circular index.
Get advice before a live deadline expires
The result depends on the legal entities, the service, the authority’s stated ground, and the specific procedural document. Have an Indian GST tax lawyer or GST practitioner review those materials promptly, especially if a response or appeal period is running. This is general information, not a conclusion about a particular taxpayer or dispute.
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