Export rebate limitation must follow the governing statute; subordinate rules cannot create an inconsistent time bar.

Rebate claims for service tax paid on export-related services were held not to be time-barred, because the limitation period had to be read consistently with the governing statutory framework. The Tribunal held that subordinate legislation in the rebate notification could not impose a limitation that conflicted with the parent enactment, including the refund mechanism under Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 as applied to service tax. The relevant export date had to be determined by the statutory scheme, not by an artificial limitation basis. The rejection of refund on limitation was unsustainable, and consequential relief followed.

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Issues: Whether the rebate claims for service tax paid on specified services used for export of goods were time-barred, and whether the relevant date for computing the one-year period was the date of Let Export Order or the date on which the goods were actually shipped/exported.

Analysis: The rebate notification required the claim to be filed within one year from the date of export, and its explanation treated the date of export as the date on which the proper officer of Customs made an order permitting clearance and loading under Section 51 of the Customs Act, 1962. The Tribunal examined the interaction between the notification and the statutory scheme, including Section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 as made applicable to service tax by Section 83 of the Finance Act, 1994. It held that the notification could not, by subordinate legislation, impose a limitation inconsistent with the parent enactment, and that the relevant date for the rebate claims had to be determined in the manner most consistent with the statutory framework governing export-related refunds.

Conclusion: The rebate claims were not time-barred, and the rejection of refund on limitation was unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded and the assessee was held entitled to the refund rebate claim with consequential relief in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: A limitation period for export rebate claims cannot be effectively enlarged or curtailed by subordinate legislation in a manner inconsistent with the governing statute; where the statutory and notification framework are harmonised, the claim must be tested on the legally relevant export date and not on an artificial limitation basis.

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