Service tax refund for export services cannot be denied by reclassifying services at the recipient's end.

Refund under Notification No. 17/2009-ST cannot be denied merely because the recipient's end treats export-related services differently from the service provider's classification. Where invoices and certificates show that tax was discharged under the stated service heads, including Technical Testing and Analysis service and Customs House Agent service, the authorities cannot redetermine the classification at the recipient level for refund purposes. The document states that this approach is inconsistent with the settled principle governing export-linked service tax refunds, and the refund rejection was set aside with consequential relief.

---

---

Issues: Whether refund of service tax claimed under Notification No. 17/2009-ST could be denied on the basis that the services received for export were said to fall under different service categories at the recipient end.

Analysis: The refund claim had been rejected only because the lower authorities treated the services differently from the manner in which the service provider had classified them and discharged service tax. The invoices and certificates showed that the provider had charged tax under Technical Testing and Analysis service and Customs House Agent service. The rejection was inconsistent with the settled principle that the classification of services at the recipient's end cannot be redetermined by the authorities for the purpose of denying refund, particularly when the services were used in relation to export and the tax had already been paid under the stated heads.

Conclusion: The denial of refund was held unsustainable, and the assessee succeeded.

Final Conclusion: The refund rejection was set aside and the appeals were allowed with consequential relief.

Ratio Decidendi: Services received for export cannot be reclassified at the recipient's end to deny a refund claim where the service provider has already classified and taxed them under the stated service heads.

---