Export-linked service tax refund allows corroborative proof where transport documents omit invoice particulars.

Refund of service tax on GTA services used for export cannot be denied solely because export invoice particulars were not entered in the lorry receipts or shipping bills, where the exporter can otherwise establish the documentary nexus. Under Notification No. 41/2007-ST, as amended, the relevant question is whether the export-linked service and goods can be verified through corroborative evidence. The Tribunal noted that the absence of particulars in the original transport documents is not, by itself, fatal to the refund claim, and directed fresh verification of the linkage between the lorry receipts, export invoices, and shipping bills.

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Issues: Whether refund of service tax paid on GTA services used for export of goods could be denied merely because the export invoice details were not mentioned in the lorry receipts and corresponding shipping bills, when the exporter claimed to be able to establish the linkage between the documents.

Analysis: The claim concerned refund of service tax on services used in export under Notification No. 41/2007-ST, as amended. There was no dispute as to export of the goods or use of GTA services. The only objection was the absence of invoice particulars in the lorry receipts and shipping bills. The Tribunal followed the earlier view that where the required particulars are not contained in the original document, the exporter may produce corroborative evidence later, and the department may verify the correctness of the claim before granting refund.

Conclusion: The refund denial was not sustained on the sole ground of missing invoice particulars, and the matter was remanded for verification of the linkage between the lorry receipts, export invoices, and shipping bills. The appeals were allowed by way of remand.

Final Conclusion: The assessee obtained a remand for fresh adjudication of the refund claim, with an opportunity to establish documentary linkage in support of the export-linked GTA service refund.

Ratio Decidendi: Refund under the export service tax exemption notification cannot be rejected solely for absence of certain particulars in the original transport document if the exporter can later establish the required nexus and the claim remains open to departmental verification.

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