Refund for export services cannot be denied merely for non-disclosure in ST-3 returns; procedural lapse led to remand.

Refund under Notification No. 27/2012 could not be denied solely because export turnover was not reflected in ST-3 returns, as neither the notification nor Rule 5(1)(D) of the Cenvat Credit Rules imposed that separate condition. The assessee had produced chartered accountant certification and FIRC-related evidence, and export of services with foreign exchange realisation was not disputed; the omission was therefore treated as a procedural lapse, not a substantive defect. The remaining refund claim was remanded for fresh examination, while the uncontested portion of the refund was upheld.

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Issues: Whether refund under Notification No. 27/2012 could be denied on the ground that export turnover was not reflected in the ST-3 returns, and whether the matter required reconsideration.

Analysis: The refund notification required computation of total turnover with reference to export turnover of services as defined under Rule 5(1)(D) of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004. The notification and the Rules did not impose any separate condition that export turnover must be declared in the ST-3 returns for the refund sanctioning authority to verify the claim. The assessee had produced a chartered accountant's certificate and FIRC-related evidence, and the export of services and realization of foreign exchange were not disputed. Treating non-disclosure in the ST-3 returns as a ground for rejection introduced an extraneous requirement not found in the notification. In the absence of any allegation of evasion or wrongdoing, the omission was treated as a procedural lapse. Since a similar claim had earlier been allowed on the same ground, the matter warranted fresh examination.

Conclusion: Denial of refund solely for non-disclosure of export turnover in ST-3 returns was not justified; the remaining refund claim was remanded for reconsideration. The part of the refund not contested was upheld against the assessee.

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