ST - Refund is not admissible on such services received prior to date they were notified in notification 17/2009-ST: CESTAT
THIS is a Revenue appeal.
The respondent filed claim for refund of service tax under Notification 17/2009-ST dated 07/07/2009 on 21/07/2010 for refund of service tax paid on input service received and used in respect of exports for the month of August and September 2009.
The adjudicating authority rejected the refund claim but the Commissioner(A) set aside the same and directed the lower adjudicating authority to process the claim as per law.
Before the CESTAT, the Revenue representative submitted that the services provided of transport of export goods through national waterway, inland water and coastal shipping under (zzzzl) was inserted in notification 17/2009-ST vide notification 40/09-ST dated 30/09/2009. And since the period for which the refund has been claimed is prior to insertion of the said service, the benefit of notification 17/2009 read with Notification 40/2009-ST is not available to the respondent. Inasmuch as the operation of the impugned order passed by the Commissioner (A) may be stayed.
Holding that the notification would not be available to the applicant, the CESTAT granted stay in the matter.
Incidentally, the O-in-A is dated 21/02/2011 and it is highly unlikely that the adjudicating authority would have kept the refund claim pending for so long without any stay.