Ahmedabad: MSMEs in Gujarat have flagged delayed GST refunds, inverted duty structure and input tax credit blockages as major concerns affecting liquidity and operations.At an interactive session organized by the India SME Forum with CGST and SGST officials, they also raised concerns over the inability to assess whether suppliers are GST-compliant, which often results in denial or blockage of ITC for buyers despite genuine transactions.Vinod Kumar, president of the India SME Forum, said Gujarat, being a major MSME hub, is witnessing widespread concerns across sectors over refund issues, ITC mismatch and inverted duty structure. He said, “Textiles, chemicals, ceramics, engineering, pharmaceuticals and trading sectors see refund delays and ITC mismatches, which puts pressure on working capital.”Tax advocate Varis Isani said the time taken for ITC refunds had increased significantly. He also pointed to delays in GST registration cancellation, saying businesses that had already shut down were still required to continue filing GST returns until the cancellation process was completed.Senior officials from the GST department said efforts are being made to ensure honest taxpayers are not adversely affected. They said less than 1% of the cases were selected for audit through a system-based process, indicating a limited and targeted scrutiny mechanism.The officials added that the department was adhering to prescribed timelines for refunds, fresh registrations, premises verification and cancellation procedures.
