2011 (3) TMI 442 - AT - Service Tax

Tribunal overturns denial of service tax refund for exports, stresses evidence requirement and documentation streamlining.

The Tribunal set aside the decision denying a refund claim for service tax paid on courier, banking, and GTA services used for export. The appellant's ... Refund of service tax paid - courier service, banking service and GTA service used for export - No purpose will be served in requiring the claimants of refunds to produce multiple copies of same documents in respect of each and every individual claim of service tax credit - Since invoices and the shipping bill and ARE-1 have been produced, prima-facie appellants seem to be eligible for refund - However subject to the guidelines the original adjudicating authority is directed to verify the claim once again and satisfy himself whether with the help of export invoice and the invoices issued by the service providers, linkage between the export goods and the service providers invoice have been established by the appellant or not and consider the claim thereafter - The impugned order is set aside and the matter is remanded to the original adjudicating authority for verification and consideration of the claim afresh. Issues:Refund of service tax paid on courier service, banking service, and GTA service used for export rejected due to lack of proper linkage between documents and actual export.Analysis:The judgment deals with the rejection of a refund claim for service tax paid on courier service, banking service, and GTA service used for export. The appellant's refund claim was denied by the Revenue citing insufficient evidence linking the services to the export of goods. The appellant argued that the necessary linkage was established through various documents, such as courier receipts, banking service invoices, and details of GTA service invoices.Regarding the courier service, the appellant rectified the deficiency in the endorsement of the courier agency on the export invoice. The advocate demonstrated that the courier receipt contained the necessary details of the recipient and destination, aligning with the information in the invoice. This linkage between the courier invoice and shipping bill was deemed sufficient to establish the service's use in exporting goods.In the case of banking service, the appellant provided copies of invoices from Citi Bank showing fees charged with relevant export invoice details. The claim was rejected by the Revenue for insufficiency, but the appellant contended that the invoice numbers could link the export goods to the shipping bill and ARE-1. Similarly, the claim related to GTA service was rejected due to inadequate details of invoices without corresponding shipping bills.The Tribunal opined that it is not mandatory for exporters to attach copies of shipping bills, ARE-1, etc., for every service invoice, as it would unnecessarily increase the claim's bulk. Instead, the focus should be on ensuring that the export invoice contains all relevant details and that the invoice number matches the receipts issued by service providers. The Tribunal emphasized that the availability of basic documents like shipping bills and ARE-1 is crucial, and multiple copies of the same documents for each service tax claim are unnecessary.Ultimately, the Tribunal set aside the impugned order and remanded the matter to the original adjudicating authority for reevaluation. The authority was directed to verify if the linkage between export goods and service provider invoices had been established by the appellant based on the provided documents. The judgment highlighted the importance of sufficient evidence to support refund claims while streamlining the documentation process for claimants.