2016 (9) TMI 584 - AT - Service Tax

Refund claim - credit was wrongly availed on the invoices issued to the Hyderabad office of the assessee - Hyderabad office does not find place in registration certificate - Held that - considering that there is no dispute about the receipt of services by the respondent and the utilisation thereof being permissible even without registration under Finance Act, 1994, the rejection of invoices raised on an address that is not included in the registration certificate would not sustain. The respondent, as an exporter of goods, is privileged to exclude the tax/duty element from the export price. In these circumstances, the settled law of lack of registration not being an impediment for utilisation of CENVAT credit finds equal acceptance in allowing the refund of CENVAT credit relating to the tax paid on inputs/input services. Period of limitation - computation of one year from the date of FIRCs would render it beyond the period of one year specified in section 11B of Central Excise Act, 1944 - relevant date is the last day of the relevant quarter of receipt of FIRCs instead of the dates on which the FIRCs had been issued is not in accordance with the notification 27/2012-CE(NT) dated 18th June 2012 - Held that - the settled law relating to the date of issue of FIRCs being acceptable for compliance to the procedure laid down in notification no. 27/2012-CE(NT). The restrictions imposed on filing of refund claim cannot be further restricted by computing the deadline from the date of issue of FIRCs. Accordingly, there is no flaw in the findings of the first appellate authority that last date of quarter in which the FIRCs were issued should be the relevant date for computing the period within which the refund should be sought. - Decided against the Revenue

Summary

Issues:
1. Refund under Rule 5 of the CENVAT Credit Rules 2004 for banking and financial services.
2. Limitation period for filing refund claims under Central Excise Act, 1944.
3. Availment of CENVAT credit against invoices issued to a non-registered office.
4. Interpretation of relevant date for filing refund claims under notification 27/2012-CE(NT).
5. Pre-condition of registration for availment of CENVAT credit.
6. Definition of 'export' under Export of Service Rules for tax exemption on exported services.

Analysis:
1. The appeal was filed seeking refund under Rule 5 of the CENVAT Credit Rules 2004 for banking and financial services. The appellant's refund claims were partially allowed and rejected by the original authority, leading to the appeal. The issue of limitation was raised concerning the computation of one year from the date of FIRCs, as specified in section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944, adopted for processing refund claims under notification 27/2012-CE(NT) dated 18th June 2012.

2. The revenue contested the sanction of the refund, arguing that credit was wrongly availed on invoices issued to the appellant's Hyderabad office. The relevant date for filing refund claims was disputed, with the revenue contending that it should be the last day of the relevant quarter of FIRCs receipt, not the dates of issuance. However, the Tribunal upheld the interpretation that the last date of the quarter in which FIRCs were received should be the relevant date for computing the period within which the refund should be sought.

3. The issue of availing CENVAT credit against invoices issued to a non-registered office was raised. The revenue argued that registration is a pre-condition for the availment of CENVAT credit. However, the Tribunal relied on established judgments that lack of registration is not an impediment for utilizing CENVAT credit if the primary condition of liability to duties/taxes has been discharged by the assessee when procuring inputs or receiving services.

4. The interpretation of the relevant date for filing refund claims under notification 27/2012-CE(NT) was crucial. The Tribunal emphasized that the restrictions on filing refund claims to once in every quarter should not be further restricted by computing the deadline from the date of issue of FIRCs. The settled law regarding the date of issue of FIRCs being acceptable for compliance with the notification was upheld.

5. The pre-condition of registration for the availment of CENVAT credit was discussed. The Tribunal clarified that lack of registration is not a hindrance for utilizing CENVAT credit if the primary condition of discharging duties/taxes liability has been met. The Tribunal emphasized that lack of registration is not an impediment for utilizing CENVAT credit.

6. The interpretation of the definition of 'export' under the Export of Service Rules for tax exemption on exported services was analyzed. The Tribunal highlighted that the performance of services and receiving consideration in convertible foreign currency are sufficient for securing the privilege of tax exemption on exported services. Refund under the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004, mandates the production of FIRCs as proof of receipt of foreign convertible currency.