GST refund drive extended till June 16

Vartha Bharati | 12-06-2018 | 19:22:00 IST

New Delhi, June 12: The government on Tuesday extended the special fortnight-long drive to process pending GST refunds by two more days till June 16.

It said that refunds worth over Rs 7,500 crore were already sanctioned as a part of this drive till now compared to Rs 5,350 crore sanctioned in the earlier drive which lasted from March 15 to 29.

"In view of overwhelming response from exporters and pending claims, the period of refund fortnight is being extended by two more days, that is up to June 16," an official statement said.

The government had last month announced the fortnight-long drive from May 31 to June 14.

In March, the government had launched a similar exercise to process the pending GST refunds on account of exports. However this time, the drive is to facilitate all types of refund claims received till April 30. 

"This will include refunds of IGST paid on exports, refunds of unutilized input tax credit and all other GST refunds," the Finance Ministry had said in a statement when the drive was launched.

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Next round of Iran-US negotiations expected soon: Pak's Defence Minister

13-04-2026 ¦ 13-04-2026 IST

Representational Image (Gemini)

Islamabad (PTI): Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Monday said that the next round of Iran-US negotiations was expected soon.

Asif made these remarks on Monday, a day after the Islamabad talks failed to clinch a deal.

The 21-hour talks between the US and Iran on Saturday were the first of their kind since 1979 due to the involvement of top-level officials from both sides. The two sides, however, failed to secure a lasting peace deal to end hostilities following their talks in Pakistan over the weekend.

Speaking to the media outside Parliament House, Asif said there had been a sense of satisfaction after the talks that there were no negative developments so far.

“Only positive progress has been observed,” he said, indicating that the ongoing diplomatic efforts were moving in a constructive direction.

The next round of Iran-US negotiations was expected soon, he added.

The Express Tribune reported that responding to a question about whether Pakistan would play a decisive role in shaping the region’s future, Asif said that ultimate decisions rest with Allah.

Vice President JD Vance, who led the US delegation at the negotiations in Islamabad, said the Iranian side did not accept Washington's terms for ending the war even as the US presented its "final and best offer".

Hours after the talks collapsed, US President Donald Trump said on social media that the negotiations with Iran failed as "Iran is unwilling to give up its nuclear ambitions."

Pakistan led the diplomatic push to bring the two sides to the table, which became possible after an appeal by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier this week, leading to a pause in the fighting.

The conflict began after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, paralysing global energy markets and disrupting trade.