Refund on GTA export services upheld where transporter invoice and lorry receipt together established service linkage.

Refund of service tax paid on GTA services used for exports under Notification No. 41/2007-ST could not be denied merely because the lorry receipt particulars were written by the assessee's staff rather than the transporter. The transporter's invoice, read with the lorry receipt, contained the details needed to link the export goods with the taxable service, and the invoice was treated as the operative consignment note. The entries on the lorry receipt were therefore not regarded as manipulation, and the refund claim was held admissible, with the denial set aside in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether refund of service tax paid on GTA services used for export under Notification No. 41/2007-ST could be denied on the ground that particulars on the lorry receipt were written by the assessee's staff and not by the transporter.

Analysis: The invoice issued by the transporter contained the relevant particulars and, read with the lorry receipt, furnished the details required for linking the export goods with the taxable service. The lorry receipt was treated as a transportation document, while the transporter's invoice was regarded as the operative consignment note for the transaction. On that basis, the entries made by the assessee's staff on the lorry receipt were not treated as manipulation. The subsequent departmental practice of allowing similar refund claims also supported the assessee's case.

Conclusion: The refund claim was held admissible and the denial was set aside in favour of the assessee.

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