Service tax refund for export-related services cannot fail on a technical filing defect; claim must be reconsidered by the proper authority.

A refund claim of service tax paid on services used for export of goods could not be rejected merely because it was filed before an incompetent authority. The Tribunal held that the application should have been forwarded to the jurisdictional Assistant or Deputy Commissioner of Service Tax for proper processing, rather than denied on that technical ground. It directed that the claim be treated as filed within limitation and decided afresh after observing natural justice. The rejection orders were therefore set aside and the matter remitted for consideration by the competent authority in accordance with law.

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Issues: Whether a refund claim of service tax paid for services used in export of goods could be rejected merely because it was filed before an authority not competent to process it, and whether the matter should be remitted for proper consideration.

Analysis: The refund application had been presented before the Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise, while the relevant service tax refund was to be processed by the jurisdictional Assistant/Deputy Commissioner of Service Tax. The rejection rested on the filing being before an inappropriate authority. The Tribunal held that the proper course was to forward the application to the jurisdictional service tax authority rather than deny the claim on that technical ground. It also directed that the claim be treated as filed within limitation and be decided after following natural justice.

Conclusion: The rejection orders were set aside and the matter was remitted for processing by the competent authority in accordance with law.

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