Application for Requesting Refund of Fees Paid [Form REFUND]

Introduction:

The Ministry of Cooperate Affairs has launched its digital portal for easing out the process of legal and corporate compliance. All the compliances mentioned in the Companies Act, 1956, New Companies Act, 2013, and Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008, can be adhered to using this portal. It has services not only for the company owners but also shareholders and creditors. ^[1]The website has all the forms required to follow these compliances. Each of these forms is uploaded along with their user guide. This guide helps to fill the form and answers the FAQs. Further, these guides also inform about the fees to be paid.

However, it so can happen that there is an issue in the payment of these forms. One can by mistake pay more amount than specified as fees or make multiple payments or fill the forms multiple times by mistake. Hence in such a case one can fill the form requesting a refund of the fees paid.

The MCA refund process can be started in the following circumstances^[2]

1. Several Payments: This refers to situations in which a service seeker files many INC-2/INC-7/old Form 1 or e-Form No. SH-7/old Form 5 forms and pays for the same service more than once (multiple times). Refunds will not be given in the case of accepted e Forms.
2. Incorrect Payments: This includes situations when the service seeker made a payment for an e Form or Stamp Duty by selecting the wrong choice under the Pay miscellaneous charge feature.
3. Extra Payment: This refers to situations in which the service seeker has paid an excess charge as a result of inaccurate data put in the eForm or wrong data in the MCA21 system as a result of data transfer from a legacy system.
4. Incorrect NEFT payments: This includes instances when the user has selected NEFT as the payment method and has committed the mistakes listed above.

The form provides for two scenarios one, where the payment issue is other than “incorrect payment via NEFT”; the second where the issue is “incorrect payment via NEFT. In both cases, there is a mechanism to register the complaint and get the issue resolved.

The process of refund when the reason is other than ‘Incorrect Payment via NEFT’^[3]

1. Only if the payment status of the transaction for which a refund is sought is ‘PAID’ may a refund form be filed.
2. The refund form can only be used to request a return of MCA21 service costs. Any stamp duty paid electronically using the MCA21 system cannot be refunded using a refund form. For a stamp duty refund, you must contact the state or union territory where the stamp duty was paid. The appropriate state/ union territory government will conduct any stamp duty refunds in line with the state/ union territory Stamp Act’s regulations and procedures.
3. The following services/eForm cannot be filed for a refund: Public Inspection of Documents, Request for Certified Copies, Stamp Duty Fee (D/E series SRN).
4. The reimbursement form must be submitted within the specified time frame. In addition, the amount to be returned will be reduced based on the time period in which the refund eForm is filed. After 1095 days have passed since the initial request was filed, you will not be able to file a refund form. The following is the time frame for filing a refund form, as well as the amount deducted from the refund:

Time within which refund application is made	The default value for deduction
0-90 days	2.5%
91-180 days	5%
181- 270 days	7.5%
271-365 days	10%
>365 days	25%

In the event of NEFT payments, a refund form should be filled for the following reasons^[4]

Putting the stamp duty charge into the account designated for the MCA filing fee.

1. Payment of the MCA filing fee into the stamp duty fee account.
2. Payment after the SRN has expired.
3. Multiple SRNs can be paid with a single payment.
4. Excessive payment in comparison to the amount specified by the MCA21 system.
5. Payment is less than the amount specified by the MCA21 system.
6. The payment was made without any SRNs being generated.

The process of refund when the reason is incorrect payment via NEFT^[5]

1. The user must use the MCA21 portal’s feature “Link NEFT payment” to link the SRN for which a refund is requested with the UTN.
2. The restriction that I the SRN must be linked to the UTN within 2 days of the bank reporting the transaction and (ii) the date of payment as per the bank file must be on or before the SRN’s expiry date does not apply in this situation.
3. If the reason for the NEFT refund is ‘Single consolidated payment for multiple SRNs,’ ‘Excess payment than the amount mentioned by MCA21 system,’ ‘Less payment than the amount mentioned by MCA21 system,’ or ‘Payment made without generating any SRNs,’ the user must generate SRNs using the MCA21 portal’s ‘Pay Miscellaneous Fee’ facility using the ‘Individual’ option. The payment mode should be set to ‘NEFT’. The SRN produced should be equal to the amount paid via NEFT for which a refund is requested.
4. Instead of the original SRN, this SRN of ‘Pay Miscellaneous Fee’ shall be associated with the UT N in the future (s). Following successful validations relevant to connecting UTN, the user will get the following confirmation message with the options “Yes” and “No.”
5. The status of your SRN will change to “Marked for Return” once you submit it, and you will need to fill out a Refund form to request a refund of the amount you paid. “Are you ready to go?” If you choose ‘Yes,’ the SRN will be connected to the UTN and the status of the SRN will be changed to ‘Marked for refund.’
6. The status of the SRN will be changed to ‘Marked for Refund’ once it is linked to the UTN. There will be no work items produced for such SRNs. After that, the user must fill out a Refund Form to get a refund. Refunds for “D” series challans will be granted if they are linked to an unlinked UT N created before June 22, 2012, through NEFT payment.

Conclusion

After understanding both the situations from the user guide, one has to fill the form with respect to its issue. All the columns, details required for his/her type of refund have to be filled in a specified manner as provided in the user guide. It is pertinent to note that, this form isn’t chargeable. Moreover, the amount of refund to be received is subject to the discretion of MCA. Added to that, the form also provides for options to modify, pre scrutiny, and check the form. This is to give enough room and chance for the user to ensure that all the details have been filled correctly, there isn’t anything left, and/or to caution the user in case he/she is committing the mistake. Thus, it enables for efficient processing of the complaints which duly serves its purpose.

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References:

[1] Vikaspedia, Government of India

[2] Whitespan Advisory, MCA Refund Process, taxguru.com

[3] Instruction Kit for eForm Refund, Application for request ting refund of fees paid, ministry of corporate affairs

[4] Ibid

[5] Ibid