Denial of refund claim merely because taxable service not mentioned in list approved by SEZ unjustified

EXL Services SEZ BPO Solutions (P) Ltd. Vs Commissioner of Customs & Central Excise (CESTAT Allahabad)

CESTAT Allahabad held that denial of refund claim of service tax under notification no. 9/2009-ST dated 03.03.2009 as taxable service in respect of which refund is claim is not mentioned in the list of specified service approved by SEZ authority unjustified.

Facts- Appellant is operating from its units located in SEZ NOIDA and SEZ Jaipur. They are having centralized registration and are providing taxable services under the category of Business Auxiliary Service from both locations.

For providing these services to the clients of its parent companies located in the USA, appellant receives various input services.

Appellant filed an application on 23.03.2011 for refund of service tax of Rs 21,35,146/- under Notification no. 9/2009-ST dated 03.03.2009, in respect of the service tax paid on services used in authorized operations in SEZ during the period October 2010 to December 2010. After scrutiny of the refund claim it was observed that the refund claim is not admissible to the appellant

Please become a Premium member. If you are already a Premium member, login here to access the full content.