2017 (3) TMI 1715 - AT - Service Tax

Refund claim - debit notes - relevant documents or not - N/N. 40/2007-ST dated 17.09.2007 - denial on the ground that the debit notes are not proper documents for refund claim and the appellant has not submitted the other relevant documents - Held that - The debit notes produced by the appellant are sufficient documents for entertaining the refund claim under Rule 4A of the Service Tax Rules, 1994. The said issue came up before this Tribunal in the case of SRF 2015 (9) TMI 1281 - CESTAT NEW DELHI wherein this Tribunal has held that If the documents provide these necessary particulars, merely because the documents are debit notes the refund cannot be denied at the end of the service recipient. The matter is remanded back to the adjudicating authority to examine the documents which were already filed by the appellant along with debit notes and to pass the appropriate order within 30 days - Appeal allowed by way of remand.

Summary

Issues:
1. Refund claim rejection based on improper documents.
2. Interpretation of Rule 4A of the Service Tax Rules, 1994 regarding debit notes as proper documents for refund claims.

Analysis:
1. The appellant appealed against the rejection of their refund claim under Notification No. 40/2007-ST, citing that debit notes were not considered proper documents for the claim, and other relevant documents were not submitted. The Ld. Commissioner (A) found the appellant had not filed the necessary documents but lacked the authority to examine them. The matter was remanded to the adjudicating authority to review the documents and debit notes supporting the refund claim already on record.

2. The Tribunal referenced a previous case to address the issue of whether debit notes could serve as proper documents for claiming a refund under Rule 4A of the Service Tax Rules, 1994. The Tribunal noted that if the debit notes contained all required details as specified in the rule, such as service provider and recipient details, taxable service description, and service tax payable, they could be considered sufficient for refund claims. Consequently, the Tribunal held that the appellant's debit notes met the criteria under Rule 4A, and therefore, the rejection of the refund claim based on this ground was deemed without merit. The matter was remanded to the adjudicating authority to re-examine the documents and debit notes and issue an appropriate order within 30 days.

In conclusion, the appeal was disposed of by way of remand, with the Tribunal affirming the sufficiency of the appellant's debit notes as valid documents for the refund claim under Rule 4A of the Service Tax Rules, 1994.