SEZ refund entitlement upheld for omitted services and education cess on services consumed within the zone.

Refund under Notification No. 09/2009-ST was treated as admissible to an SEZ unit for Scientific or Technical Consultancy Service and Chartered Accountants Service, even though those services were not specifically listed in the relevant annexures, because the omission was only technical and could not defeat the intended SEZ benefit. The approved service list had also been amended to include the disputed services, supporting the claim. Refund of education cess and higher secondary education cess was likewise held admissible on the basis of the Board circular. The Revenue's objection was rejected and the assessee was held entitled to the refund claimed for services consumed within the SEZ.

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Issues: Whether refund of service tax was admissible to an SEZ unit on Scientific or Technical Consultancy Service and Chartered Accountants Service not specifically named in the relevant annexures, and whether education cess and higher secondary education cess were refundable.

Analysis: The refund claim arose under Notification No. 09/2009-ST dated 20.5.2009 for services consumed within the SEZ. The denial by the original authority rested on the absence of the two services in Annexures II and III, but the appellate authority found that the omission was only technical and could not defeat the intended benefit available to SEZ units. It was also noted that the approved list of services had been amended to include the disputed services, and that the Board circular supported refund of education cess and higher secondary education cess.

Conclusion: Refund was held admissible for the disputed services and for the cess component, and the Revenue's objection was rejected.

Final Conclusion: The assessee was held entitled to the refund claimed for services consumed within the SEZ, and the Revenue's appeal failed.

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