Unique Identity Number: Rule 17 and the Embassy Refund Route

Unique Identity Number explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.

A UIN holder does not make supplies, does not charge tax, and does not file returns in the ordinary sense. It exists for one purpose: to get the tax back.

Section 25(9): a Unique Identity Number shall be granted to any specialised agency of the United Nations Organisation or any Multilateral Financial Institution and Organisation notified under the United Nations (Privileges and Immunities) Act, 1947, Consulate or Embassy of foreign countries, and any other person or class of persons as notified by the Commissioner, for the purpose of claiming refund of taxes paid on notified supplies of goods or services or both received by them. Rule 17 carries the procedure, and s.55 the refund entitlement.

What a UIN is not

It is not a GSTIN. A UIN holder is not a registered person making taxable supplies.

It confers no liability. No output tax, no returns under s.39, no annual return.

It does not exempt the supply. The supplier charges GST normally. The UIN holder pays it and claims it back.

That last point is the design. Rather than exempting supplies to embassies at source — which would require every supplier to verify entitlement — the tax is collected and refunded to the entitled body.

Obtaining a UIN

Rule 17(1): every person required to be granted a UIN under s.25(9) may submit an application electronically in FORM GST REG-13, or through a Facilitation Centre.

Rule 17(1A): where the need for a UIN is felt by the proper officer, he may grant it suo motu and issue a certificate in FORM GST REG-06 within three working days.

Rule 17(2): the proper officer may, on submission of an application in REG-13 or after filling up the said form, assign a Unique Identity Number and issue a certificate in FORM GST REG-06 within a period of three working days from the date of submission of the application.

Three working days — the fastest timeline in the registration chapter.

The supplier's obligation

This is where the system usually breaks.

Rule 46(f) requires the tax invoice to contain the name and address of the recipient and the address of delivery, along with the name of the State and its code, where the recipient is unregistered and the value exceeds ₹50,000.

More importantly, Rule 46 as it applies to a UIN recipient requires the UIN to be recorded on the invoice, and the supplier must report the supply in GSTR-1 against that UIN.

Without both:

• the supply does not appear in the UIN holder's GSTR-11;
• the refund claim has no auto-populated basis;
• the claim is rejected or heavily queried.

Embassies and UN bodies therefore routinely issue standing instructions to vendors to quote the UIN. Suppliers, for their part, need to configure the UIN as a valid recipient identifier in their billing systems — many treat it as an invalid GSTIN and fall back to a B2C invoice.

GSTR-11 and the refund

Section 39(6): every person who has been issued a UIN and claims refund of the taxes paid on his inward supplies shall furnish the details of such supplies in FORM GSTR-11, along with the application for refund, in the manner prescribed.

Rule 82: every person who has been issued a UIN shall furnish the details of inward supplies of goods or services or both in FORM GSTR-11, along with the application for refund, on or before the twenty eighth day of the month following the month in which such supplies were received.

Section 55: the Government may, on the Council's recommendation, by notification, specify these persons who shall, subject to such conditions and restrictions as may be prescribed, be entitled to claim a refund of taxes paid on notified supplies of goods or services or both received by them.

Section 54(2): the application must be made before the expiry of two years from the last day of the quarter in which such supply was received. Note the reference point — the quarter, not the invoice date, and the period was extended from six months to two years by the Finance Act, 2022 with effect from 01.10.2022.

Rule 95 carries the refund procedure for UIN holders, with conditions including that the inward supplies were received from a registered person against a tax invoice and that the UIN is mentioned on the invoice.

Key takeaways

• A UIN is granted under s.25(9) to UN specialised agencies, notified multilateral institutions, consulates and embassies, and notified persons.
• It exists only to claim refund — it confers no liability and does not exempt the supply.
• FORM GST REG-13 application; certificate in REG-06 within three working days.
• The supplier must quote the UIN on the invoice and report it in GSTR-1.
• GSTR-11 by the 28th of the following month, with the refund application.
• Two years from the last day of the quarter in which the supply was received, under s.54(2).

Read next

• GSTR-11: Return for UIN Holders and Embassies
• GST Refund Process Step by Step: RFD-01 to RFD-06
• Section 22-30 CGST: Registration
• Tax Invoice Under GST: Format, Contents and Rules

Disclaimer: Positions stated as on 5 September 2026, based on the CGST Act and Rules as amended to 31 March 2026 (ICAI Bare Law, 12th edition) and the ICAI Handbook on Registration under GST (November 2025).