Tribunal: Fees waived for rebate claim appeal. Appeal jurisdiction clarified.

The Tribunal held that the appeals were maintainable without payment of fees as the issue pertained to a rebate claim of service tax, where no fees were required. Regarding jurisdiction, the Tribunal found that appeals against orders rejecting rebate claims on exported output services fell under Section 86 for appeal before the Tribunal, not Section 35B as argued by the Revenue. The Tribunal distinguished the cited case, ruling in favor of the appellant and directing further proceedings.

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Issues:
1. Maintainability of appeals due to non-payment of fee.
2. Jurisdiction of the Tribunal regarding appeals against orders passed by the Commissioner(Appeals) rejecting rebate claims.

Analysis:
1. The first issue raised was the non-payment of fees for filing the appeal. The appellant argued that since the issue pertained to a rebate claim of service tax, and there was no provision for payment of fees in case of refund/rebate, no fees were applicable in the present case. The appellant relied on judgments supporting this argument, emphasizing that payment of fees is not required for filing an appeal in rebate or refund matters. The Tribunal agreed with this argument based on the precedent set by the Larger Bench and the Allahabad High Court, stating that the appeal was maintainable without the payment of fees.

2. The second issue involved the jurisdiction of the Tribunal regarding appeals against orders passed by the Commissioner(Appeals) rejecting rebate claims. The appellant contended that the issue in question related to rebate claims on output services exported out of India, which was not carved out for filing appeals under Section 86. The appellant cited relevant judgments to support this argument. On the other hand, the Revenue argued that as per Section 35EE, revision applications lie before the revisionary authority for cases falling under the first proviso to subsection (1) of Section 35B. The Revenue relied on a specific case to support their stance. However, the Tribunal analyzed the provisions of Section 86 and Section 35EE, noting that Section 86 explicitly carved out orders related to rebate of service tax on input or input service for appeal before the Tribunal. Since the issue in the present case pertained to rebate of service tax paid on output service exported, the appeal was deemed maintainable before the Tribunal. The Tribunal distinguished the case cited by the Revenue, emphasizing that it involved rebate of service tax on input or input service, which was not applicable in the present context. Consequently, the Tribunal ruled that the appeals were maintainable based on the provisions of Section 86 and Section 35EE, and not Section 35B. The Tribunal directed the registry to list the matters for further proceedings.

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