2013 (2) TMI 383 - AT - Service Tax

Refund claim rejected - non producing bill, challan or invoices in original - Held that - The matter needs to be factually verified as there is a claim of the chartered accountant that they will be able to produce the evidence regarding the receipt of the services and payment made for such services, thus appellant should be given a chance to produce the same before the lower authorities for substantiating his claim of refund of the service tax paid by him for the export of goods - in favour of assessee by way of remand.

Summary

Issues:
Refund claims under Notification No.17/2009-ST; Rejection of refund claims due to non-production of original documents.

Analysis:
The judgment pertains to three appeals by the same assessee concerning refund claims under Notification No.17/2009-ST, where some claims were hit by limitation and others were partly allowed and partly rejected due to non-production of original documents. The appellant, represented by a chartered accountant, argued that they have two factories and exported goods from both units in one container, resulting in refund claims for each unit. However, original documents were filed with the refund claim made to authorities of one unit only. The appellant requested a remand to the adjudicating authority for reconsideration. The Commissioner (A.R.) acknowledged rectifiable errors and supported giving the appellants another chance.

Upon considering the submissions, the judge noted that the rejection of the refund claims was solely due to the inability to produce original copies of documents showing service tax liability and payment discharge. As the chartered accountant claimed they could provide evidence of services receipt and payment, the judge decided to give the appellant an opportunity to present the original documents to substantiate the refund claim. Emphasizing that there was no dispute regarding services receipt for exported goods, the judge set aside the impugned orders and remanded the matter to the original adjudicating authority for a fresh review, specifically on the issue of non-production of original documents. The adjudicating authority was directed to adhere to principles of natural justice in reaching a conclusion.

Ultimately, all three appeals were allowed by way of remand, providing the appellant with the chance to present the required original documents for the refund claims.