Refund of service tax on empty-container transport for export stuffing accepted under Notification No. 17/2009-Service Tax.

Refund of service tax paid on transporting empty containers from yard to factory for stuffing export goods was treated as admissible under Notification No. 17/2009-Service Tax. The Tribunal relied on its earlier decisions in the same assessee's own case on identical facts, where the refund claim had already been accepted, and therefore the lower authorities' rejection could not be sustained. The only amount separately disallowed for want of ARE-2s and shipping bills was accepted by the assessee as inconsequential. The refund claim was thus allowed in principle, subject only to the small residual disallowance.

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Issues: Whether the refund of service tax paid on transportation of empty containers from yard to factory for stuffing of export goods was admissible under Notification No. 17/2009-Service Tax.

Analysis: The Tribunal followed its earlier decisions in the assessee's own case, where the same type of refund claim had been held admissible under Notification No. 17/2009-Service Tax. Since the controversy had already been settled in favour of the assessee on identical facts, the rejection of refund by the lower authorities could not be sustained. The only amount separately disallowed for want of ARE-2s and shipping bills was accepted by the assessee as inconsequential.

Conclusion: The refund claim was held admissible in principle and the assessee succeeded substantially, with only the small amount of Rs. 1,622/- remaining disallowed.

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