SEZ refund of service tax allowed where records showed services were authorised from the date of application.

Refund of service tax paid on services used for authorised operations in an SEZ was admissible where the Development Commissioner's records and subsequent communication showed those services were authorised from the date of the first application. On that factual basis, the rejection of the refund claim on the ground that fresh authorisation was required was unsustainable. The refund claim was therefore allowed, the rejection order was set aside, and consequential relief followed in favour of the assessee.

---

---

Issues: Whether refund of service tax paid on services used in a Special Economic Zone was admissible where the Development Commissioner's records showed those services as authorized services from the date of application.

Analysis: The services in question were consumed by the SEZ developer during the relevant period. The record included a list of services approved for authorized operations in the SEZ, and those services were specifically shown as included. A subsequent communication from the office of the Development Commissioner clarified that the services were authorized from the date of the first application, namely December 2008. In these circumstances, rejection of the refund claim on the footing that the services were not authorized was not sustainable.

Conclusion: The refund claim was held admissible and the rejection order was set aside in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded, and the assessee was entitled to consequential relief.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the Development Commissioner's records establish that services used in an SEZ were authorized for approved operations from the relevant date, refund of service tax on those services cannot be denied merely on a contrary view that fresh authorization was required.

---