Export service tax refund turns on actual tax payment and export use, not the supplier's registration category.

Refund of service tax on export-related services cannot be denied merely because the service provider's registration certificate reflects a different service category. The Tribunal held that entitlement under Notification No. 41/2007-ST depends on taxable services being received for export use and service tax having been paid; the supplier's registration nomenclature is not decisive. On that basis, the refund claim was admissible and the rejection on registration grounds was unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether refund of service tax paid on export-related services could be denied on the ground that the service provider was not registered under the specific service category prescribed in Notification No. 41/2007-ST dated 06.10.2007.

Analysis: The Tribunal found that the facts were similar to the earlier decision relied upon by the appellant. It accepted the principle that where taxable services are received for use in export activity and service tax has been paid, refund cannot be denied merely because the service provider's registration certificate reflects a different category. The decisive factor was actual payment of service tax on eligible export-related services, not the supplier's registration nomenclature.

Conclusion: The refund claim was held to be admissible and the rejection based on the supplier's registration category was unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside and the appeal was allowed with consequential relief.

Ratio Decidendi: For refund under the notification, entitlement depends on taxable services being received for export use and service tax having been paid, and not on the exact category of the service provider's registration.

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