Service tax refund under export notification denied where claimant was not the exporter and goods were shipped through a merchant exporter.

Refund of service tax under Notification No. 17/2009-ST is available only to the exporter who receives and uses the specified service for export, pays service tax on that service, and has not taken CENVAT credit. Where the goods are exported through a third-party merchant exporter and the claimant itself is not the exporter, the essential conditions of the notification are not met. The refund claim was therefore not admissible, and rejection of the claim was on the stated facts.

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Issues: Whether refund of service tax under Notification No. 17/2009-ST dated 07.07.2009 was admissible to the appellant when the goods were exported through a third-party merchant exporter and the appellant itself was not the exporter.

Analysis: The notification permits refund only to the exporter who receives and uses the specified service for export of the goods, pays service tax on that service, and has not taken CENVAT credit. The appellant admitted that it had not exported the goods and that exports were effected through a merchant exporter. As the appellant was not the exporter, the essential conditions of the notification were not satisfied.

Conclusion: The refund claim was not admissible to the appellant and the rejection of the claim was correct.

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