2015 (2) TMI 474 - AT - Service Tax

Denial of Refund claim - SEZ - appellant claimed refund of service tax paid on the input services received by them in terms of provisions of Notification No. 9/2009 dated 03.05.2009 as amended by Notification 15/2009-ST dated 20.05.2009 - Since the amended Notification provided for refund only in those cases where the services were not wholly consumed within the SEZ, the authorities below rejected the refund claim - Held that - The Government has two schemes for granting exemption to services provided to SEZ Units where the services are wholly consumed within the SEZ the services being provided from outside are exempted from payment of service tax. Where these services were not wholly consumed within the SEZ, Notification 9/2009 read with Notification 15/2009 provided that the service receiver in the SEZ is eligible for refund of the tax paid on the input service. The matter is settled by the decisions of the Tribunal to the effect that even where the services are wholly consumed within SEZ, the Unit will be eligible for refund when tax has already been paid by the service provider. - Decided in favour of assessee.

Summary

Issues:
Refund claim rejection for service tax paid on input services within SEZ.

Detailed Analysis:

The appellant, an SEZ unit providing export IT services and business support services, filed a refund claim of &8377; 9,72,169/- for the period June 2009 to September 2009. The claim was rejected by the Commissioner (Appeals) and the Asst. Commissioner, citing that the services were wholly consumed within the SEZ, making them ineligible for a refund under Notification No. 9/2009 as amended by Notification 15/2009. The appellant utilized various input services approved by the Development Commissioner of the SEZ, including Management Consultancy services, Chartered Accountancy Service, and IT software services.

The Tribunal noted that there are two schemes for exemption of services provided to SEZ Units: one where services are wholly consumed within the SEZ and are exempt from service tax, and the other where services are not wholly consumed within the SEZ, allowing for a refund of tax paid on input services. Previous Tribunal decisions established that even if services are wholly consumed within the SEZ, the unit is eligible for a refund if the tax has been paid by the service provider. The Tribunal referred to its own order in the appellant's case (Order No. A/889-893/13/CSTB/C-I dated 28.3.2013) which supported the appellant's position.

The appellant agreed to forego the claim for an amount of &8377; 3,431/-, which was rejected due to missing invoices submitted with the refund claim. After considering the arguments, the Tribunal allowed the appeal, granting consequential relief to the appellant, except for the amount of &8377; 3,431/-, which was not pressed upon during the proceedings. The judgment was dictated in court, finalizing the decision in favor of the appellant.