Refund claim limitation under service tax export scheme barred late filing, with no power to condone delay.

Refund claims for service tax on export of goods were governed by the applicable exemption notification and the Board's clarification on the filing period. For exports made in March 2008, the claim had to be filed within the period prescribed in paragraph 2(e) of the notification, and for exports from April to June 2008 the clarified outer limit was 31.12.2008. As the claim was filed on 02.01.2009, it was beyond time. The filing deadline was treated as mandatory under the notification scheme, and the authorities had no power to condone the delay, so the refund was correctly rejected as time-barred.

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Issues: Whether the refund claim for service tax on export of goods was barred by limitation for being filed beyond the time prescribed in the relevant notification and the Board's clarification, and whether the delay could be condoned.

Analysis: The time limit for refund claims was governed by the applicable exemption notification and the Board's circular clarifying the filing period. For exports made during March 2008, the claim had to be filed within the prescribed period under paragraph 2(e) of the notification. For exports made from April to June 2008, the clarified outer limit was 31.12.2008. The claim in question was filed on 02.01.2009, after the prescribed deadline. The delay was only a few days, but the time limit was statutory in character and no power of condonation was available to the authorities under the notification scheme.

Conclusion: The refund claim was rightly held to be time-barred, and the rejection of the claim was upheld in favour of the Revenue.

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