2017 (3) TMI 1655 - AT - Service Tax

Refund claim - export of Business Auxiliary Services - time limitation - primary submission of the appellant is that it is settled law that the relevant date should be one year from the last date of quarter to which the refund claim pertains in view of the restriction in the notification - Held that - it is clear that the refund claims have been filed within the period of one year from the last date of the quarter to which the claims pertains and that it was not correct on the part of the first appellate authority to accept the plea of Revenue that the date should be computed from the date of invoice - appeal allowed - decided in favor of appellant.

Summary

Issues:
Claim for refund under rule 5 of CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004; Calculation of relevant date for refund eligibility under section 11B of Central Excise Act, 1944; Interpretation of notification limiting refund claims to one per quarter; Relevance of date of receipt of foreign exchange or consideration for computing period of limitation; Applicability of decisions in similar cases; Disputed amount of refund sanctioned but denied by first appellate authority; Correctness of computing relevant date for refund claims.

Analysis:
The case involved M/s WNS Global Service Private Limited, exporters of 'business auxiliary service', who claimed a refund of tax paid on input services amounting to ?1,05,98,545/- from April 2005 to July 2007. The claim was based on rule 5 of CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004, and notification no.5/2006-CE (NT) dated 14th June 2006, allowing monetization of credit accumulated on input services used for exporting services. The original authority granted a partial refund and rejected the remaining claim due to dates of export exceeding the permitted one-year limit from the claim date. The impugned order-in-appeal by the Commissioner of Customs, Central Excise & Service Tax (Appeals), Nagpur, relied on a Tribunal decision in Affinity Express India Pvt Ltd, leading to further denial of refund. The appellant argued that the relevant date for refund claims should be one year from the last date of the quarter, citing precedents like Bechtel India Pvt Ltd and Hyundai Motor India Engineering (P) Ltd cases.

The appellant contended that the date of receipt of foreign exchange or consideration should determine the period of limitation for refund claims, contrary to the first appellate authority's reliance on the Affinity Express India Pvt Ltd decision. The appellant also referenced the Larger Bench decision in Commissioner of Service Tax, Goa v. Ratio Pharma India Pvt Ltd and Tribunal decision in Oceans Connect India Pvt Ltd to challenge the first appellate authority's interpretation. The Learned Counsel argued that the disputed refund amount was within the one-year limit from the last quarter date, opposing the first appellate authority's decision.

The Tribunal, after considering the submissions, concluded that the refund claims were filed within the prescribed one-year period from the last quarter date, rejecting the Revenue's argument to compute the date from the invoice issuance. Consequently, the impugned order was set aside, and the appeal was allowed, emphasizing the correctness of computing the relevant date for refund claims in accordance with the appellant's arguments. The judgment was pronounced on 9th March 2017.