VAT recovery on imports and exports
In India, import VAT comes as IGST. We help make sure it, and eligible customs duty, comes back to you as credit, refund or drawback.
- Across our network
- 227+ Warehouses
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Short answer
How does VAT recovery work in India?
GST replaced VAT in India in 2017, so the tax paid on imports is IGST. GST-registered importers can usually claim it as input tax credit, exporters can get IGST refunds, and duty paid on goods that are re-exported can often be recovered as drawback. Lozy sets up shipments and paperwork so these claims hold up.
What’s included
Set up the paperwork right and the tax comes back to you.
IGST credit on imports
Your GSTIN checked on every Bill of Entry, so the IGST shows up for input tax credit.
IGST refunds on exports
Shipping Bills filed to match your GST returns, so refunds aren’t held up by mismatches.
Duty drawback
Claims for re-exported goods and eligible imported inputs used in exports.
Corrections
Help with amendment requests when an entry was filed with the wrong details.
An audit-ready trail
Invoices, Bills of Entry and payments linked for every shipment.
Bank details registered
Refund bank accounts set up correctly with customs, a common cause of delay.
IGST and duty recovery for Delhi NCR importers
For NCR businesses the money usually sits in IGST paid at import. Bills of Entry filed at Tughlakabad, Patparganj, Dadri or IGI carry the IGST that feeds your input tax credit, and re-exported goods can often claim duty drawback.
We set the paperwork up at filing time so the claims hold months later.
Three ways tax comes back
VAT recovery in India runs on three tracks, and a single shipment can touch more than one. Which track a flow rides depends on what was paid, to whom, and what happens to the goods next — and the desk settles that before anything is filed.
Credit against what you owe
For most Delhi NCR importers the money sits in IGST paid at the border. The GSTIN printed on the Bill of Entry decides whether that IGST credit on imports reaches your electronic credit ledger, where it offsets GST charged on your own sales month after month. Get the GSTIN wrong and the credit sits in limbo; get it right and the ledger does the rest.
Refund on zero-rated exports
Exporters who pay IGST can claim it back through the Shipping Bill, while those who export under a bond or an LUT claim accumulated credit instead. The IGST refund route is chosen at the very start, before the first Shipping Bill is filed, because switching mid-year costs time and evidence. In both cases the paper trail must line up with your GST returns, which is where the desk spends its effort.
Drawback on re-exports and inputs
Duty drawback returns customs duty: on imported goods that are re-exported, and on eligible imported inputs that leave inside exported products. It is claimed on its own footing, separate from GST, and it asks the import entry and the export papers to agree with each other. Where the two disagree, the claim waits, so the reconciliation happens before filing rather than after a query.
Choosing the combination
The tracks do not stack on the same tax — a claim is built once, on the route that returns the most. Some flows use one route for the goods and another for the inputs, and the order of filing matters. The desk maps which way each of your flows should run, in writing, before the first Bill of Entry or Shipping Bill is filed.
The records behind a successful claim
A VAT recovery claim is decided by documents you already own — provided they agree with each other. The Bill of Entry, the Shipping Bill and the invoices must carry the same values, the same GSTIN and the same description of the goods. The desk keeps the set together from the moment the first entry is filed.
Every item on this list is checked at filing time, when a wrong digit can still be corrected cheaply — not at claim time, when it cannot.
- Bill of Entry with the GSTIN printed correctly
- Shipping Bill and export invoice, matched line by line
- Tax invoices connecting the goods to the entry
- Bank account validated with customs for refunds
- GSTR-2B and electronic credit ledger extracts
- Amendment acknowledgements kept with the file
Why claims stall — and how we keep yours moving
Most VAT recovery claims that stall fail on mismatches, not on law. The invoice carries one value and the Bill of Entry another. A GSTIN has a digit transposed. The Shipping Bill number quoted in a return does not match the one on file. Bank details were never validated on the customs portal. Each is small, fixable early and stubborn late. So the desk works at the front of the process: the GSTIN checked before an entry is filed, invoices reconciled at booking, bank validation done while the goods are still moving, and amendment requests raised while the shipment is fresh in everyone’s memory. It is unglamorous work, and it is the reason most claims this desk handles never reach the stall in the first place.
A claim that has already stalled is not lost. Bring the papers in, and the first job is a line-by-line reconciliation of what the department holds against what you have. From there the desk maps the shortest correction route the law allows.
How it works
Recovery starts at filing, not months later.
Review
We look at your import and export flows and where tax is paid.
Set up
GSTIN, IEC and bank details aligned across documents.
File right
Entries and Shipping Bills filed to support credit and refunds.
Claim
Drawback or refund claims prepared with supporting papers.
Track
Claim status followed up with you until it’s settled.
What you’ll need
Keep these ready and clearance moves faster.
Missing something? Send what you have and we’ll tell you what’s needed.
- GSTIN and IEC details
- Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills
- Commercial invoices
- Proof of export, for refunds
- Original import documents, for re-export drawback
- Bank account registered with customs
Who uses it
Pick your kind of business for the paperwork, checks and timelines that apply.
Customs and warehousing with one team
Most importers juggle a customs broker, a transporter and a warehouse. With Lozy, the paperwork and the space sit with the same people.
Clear it, then store it
Cleared goods can go straight into one of 227+ Warehouses across our network.
One point of contact
One team follows your shipment from filing to delivery, so nothing falls between vendors.
Checked before it ships
HS codes, licences and paperwork are reviewed at origin, where problems are cheapest to fix.
An itemised quote
Duties, taxes and our charges listed before you commit. Port or examination charges are flagged as they come up.
Frequently asked questions
Can’t see your question? Ask it in the quote form and we’ll answer it with your quote.
Does India charge VAT on imports?
Not by that name. Since GST replaced VAT in 2017, imports attract IGST, which works like import VAT and is usually creditable for GST-registered businesses.
Can I claim IGST paid on imports?
If you’re GST-registered and the goods are used for business, IGST paid on imports can generally be claimed as input tax credit. The GSTIN on the Bill of Entry must be correct.
What is duty drawback?
It’s a refund of customs duty on goods that are exported, either because imported goods are re-exported or because imported inputs went into exported products.
Why do export IGST refunds get stuck?
Most delays come from mismatches between the Shipping Bill and GST returns, or bank details not registered with customs. Getting the paperwork right at filing avoids most of them.
Can I claim an IGST refund if I exported under LUT instead of paying IGST?
Not on the Shipping Bill route — there is no IGST to refund when you export under a Letter of Undertaking. What you claim instead is the accumulated input tax credit, filed as a refund of unutilised credit with the returns that support it — the same invoices and export documents, claimed under a different provision. The desk files it that way from the start, because rebuilding evidence that should have existed from day one is slow work.
Do I have to choose between duty drawback and IGST refund on the same goods?
Broadly, yes — the two are not claimed on the same tax. Duty drawback returns customs duty on re-exported goods or eligible inputs; an IGST refund returns export tax through the GST system. A flow can use both in sequence, on different costs, but never on the same rupee. The desk sets the combination down in writing before anything is filed, so the claim never leans on memory.
How do I check whether my VAT recovery paperwork is complete?
Start with three documents: the Bill of Entry, the Shipping Bill, and the invoices that connect them. The GSTIN on the entry must match your registration, the values must agree, and any bank account used for refunds must be validated with customs. If those three hold, most VAT recovery claims pass without a query. The desk runs the same check at filing, and one more before anything is submitted — a second pair of eyes is cheaper than an amendment.
My Bill of Entry carries the wrong GSTIN. Is the IGST credit on imports lost?
Not necessarily — an amendment or a representation to the assessing officer can sometimes set it right, but time matters and evidence decides. The safer course is prevention: the GSTIN is checked against your registration before the entry is filed. If the error is already on record, bring the entry to the desk and the correction route is mapped case by case.
Are there imports where VAT recovery is not possible?
Yes, a few. Credit can be blocked where goods are used for exempt supplies or personal use rather than business, where the importer is not registered, or where the GSTIN is missing from the entry. Duty drawback has its own limits, such as goods that never leave the country. The desk flags these at quote stage, so an import that cannot recover tax is priced with that in mind.
Who actually files a VAT recovery claim — me or the customs desk?
The claim stands in your name, because the GSTIN, the returns and the bank account are yours; no desk can substitute its own. What the Lozy customs desk does is prepare the documents, match them across the import, GST and customs records, file the customs-side pieces it is permitted to file, and pursue the department until the claim is settled. You sign where the law requires your signature; the follow-up stays with the desk.
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Prefer to talk? Call +91 93547 12345 or email support@lozy.in.
