Refund of service tax upheld where bank records linked payments to invoices and the claim was filed within time.

Refund of service tax paid to input service providers was held admissible where bank statements, transaction details and invoices together established payment through electronic transfer and identifiable correlation with the recipients. The record also showed that the refund application was filed within one year of payment, satisfying the prescribed time limit. A rejection based only on the absence of cheque or draft particulars was therefore unsustainable, and the lower authorities' denial of refund was set aside with consequential relief.

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Issues: Whether the appellant was entitled to refund of service tax paid to input service providers under Notification No. 17/2011-S.T. dated 01.03.2011, and whether the refund claim was supported by sufficient proof of payment and filed within the prescribed period.

Analysis: The documents produced, including the bank statements and transaction details, showed that payments to service providers were made through electronic transfer and were identifiable from the records. The correlation between the invoices, the bank entries, and the recipient names was sufficient to establish that the appellant had paid the service providers. The record also supported the appellant's claim that the refund application was made within one year of such payment. The rejection of the claim for want of correlation was therefore unsustainable.

Conclusion: The appellant was eligible for refund, and the denial of refund by the lower authorities was set aside.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded and the appellant obtained consequential relief.

Ratio Decidendi: Where payment to input service providers can be reliably correlated through bank records and transaction evidence, refund cannot be denied merely for lack of cheque or draft particulars if the claim is otherwise within the prescribed time.

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