Refund under exemption notification denied where GTA service was not covered on the date rendered and later amendment was prospective.

Refund under an exemption notification is available only if the taxable service was covered by the exemption when rendered, and a later amendment enlarging the exemption operates prospectively unless expressly made retrospective. Here, GTA service was rendered before it was brought within Notification No. 41/2007-S.T. by Notification No. 3/2008-S.T., and no retrospective effect was shown. Refund was therefore not admissible for the relevant period.

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Issues: Whether refund of Service Tax paid on GTA service was admissible under Notification No. 41/2007-S.T. when the service was rendered before the service was included by amendment, and whether the amendment operated retrospectively.

Analysis: Notification No. 41/2007-S.T. was treated as an exemption notification operationalised through refund. Eligibility for refund depended on the service being exempt at the time it was rendered. GTA service was rendered during October 2007 to December 2007, when it was not covered by the notification. The inclusion of GTA service was made only by Notification No. 3/2008-S.T. with effect from 19-2-2008, and no retrospective operation of that amendment was shown.

Conclusion: Refund was not admissible, as the service was not exempt on the date of rendition and the later amendment applied prospectively.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed because the claim for refund had no basis under the exemption notification for the relevant period.

Ratio Decidendi: Refund under an exemption notification is available only if the taxable service was covered by the exemption when rendered, and a subsequent amendment enlarging the exemption operates prospectively unless expressly made retrospective.

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