Under Central Excise laws, every exporter had to submit proof of export for export of excisable goods done without payment of duty to Range Officer within 6 months from the date of clearance of goods from the factory of production. Exporters had to file statement regarding export of excisable goods without payment of duty under Annexure-19 for every month giving details regarding removals for export in the current month, proof of export received for earlier quarter(s), details of all the A.R.E.1 received by exporter within statutory time limit (i.e. 6 months), details of all the A.R.E.1 not received by exporter within statutory time limit and duties were discharged by the exporter along with interest along with abstract of bond showing debit and credit entries.

In case of direct export by the manufacturer exporter, following documents were accepted as proof of export:

1. Duly attested photocopy of shipping bill (Export Promotion Copy) bearing the particulars and date of clearance document under which the goods are cleared from the factory of production, having endorsement on its reverse by the Customs of the particulars of mate's receipt no. (Wherever applicable), name of the ship/ flight no., of the aircraft, vehicle no. - by which the goods were exported out, date of export, and EGM Number/ Airway Bill Number (wherever applicable);

2. Duly Custom's attested copy of Bill of lading; and

3. Foreign Exchange Remittance Certificates.

And in case of merchant exporter, the document prescribed by VAT Department was accepted as the proof of export which was H-Forms/ST-XXII form or equivalent Sales Tax form. These proofs were in the form of presentation of the Shipping Bill duly completed by the customs, bill of landing, foreign exchange remittance certificates etc. Thus, photocopy of H-form or ST-XXII Form or any other equivalent Sales Tax form duly attested and stamped by the manufacturer or his authorized agent will be accepted for purpose of proof of export.

However, under GST regime procedures relating to export and import of goods or services have been revised keeping in mind their alignment with the GST provisions. The procedure of A.R.E.1 is dispensed with which was followed under the earlier Central Excise law. Also, there is no clarity regarding submission of documents as proof of exports under GST. The concept of maintaining bond register and the practice of re-credit in the bond account on furnishing of proof of exports is also dispensed with as there is no clarity as regards submission of proof of exports. In such a scenario, it is not clear as to when the exporter will be entitled to take re-credit in the bond account as the practice of submitting proof of export has been eradicated.