How to Get a Tax Refund From Internal Revenue Department?

Tax refunds for Commercial Tax (“CT”), Corporate Income Tax (“CIT”), and Specific Goods Tax (“SGT”) can arise if the total tax paid during the year exceeds the actual tax due for the year. Taxpayers can request a refund from the Internal Revenue Department (“IRD”) within a year from the date the notification of the tax refund or tax assessment note is received.

A caveat to note in relation to CT and SGT is that if a taxpayer has more input than output CT or SGT at the end of the financial year, the IRD does not allow the taxpayer to request a refund of the unutilized input CT or SGT or carry forward the amount to the next financial year. It can only be deducted as a business expense when calculating CIT. As an exception, unutilized input CT on advance rental fees, and unutilized input CT or SGT on unsold goods and unutilized raw materials can be carried forward to the next financial year, subject to the IRD’s approval.

 
The first step in the process for taxpayers under the Self-Assessment System is to request a tax refund by indicating that there is overpaid tax on the annual tax return filing form as per the form’s instructions.

The tax refund process is summarized below:

• The IRD issues a tax assessment note that reflects the approved overpaid tax position once the assessment process has been completed.
• Once the tax assessment note is received with the approved overpaid tax position, the taxpayer submits a request letter to the IRD for a tax refund.
• The IRD then processes the tax refund and remits the refund to the taxpayer by a check that specifies the taxpayer’s designated bank account. 
• The taxpayer then clears the refund check through the designated bank account.

The tax refund process takes approximately one to two months from the date the request letter is submitted to the IRD. If the overpaid CT, CIT, and SGT are in MMK currency, the IRD will refund the overpaid tax in MMK. If it is in USD, the tax refund will be in USD or equivalent MMK using the Central Bank of Myanmar’s exchange rate on the date the check is issued by the IRD.