Cenvat credit refund cannot be denied for technical invoice defects when input service use is otherwise established.

Refund of accumulated Cenvat credit for an exporter of services under Rule 5 could not be denied merely for alleged non-production of invoices and challans or for technical non-compliance with invoice particulars. The Tribunal noted that the relevant documents were stated to have been produced but were not properly examined by the lower authorities, and that omission of the service provider's registration number on some invoices was a technical lapse where receipt and use of input services could otherwise be established. The refund rejection was therefore not sustained on the existing record, and the matter was remanded for fresh consideration after hearing the appellant.

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Issues: Whether refund of accumulated Cenvat credit was liable to be denied for non-production of invoices and challans and for alleged non-compliance with invoice requirements under the service tax rules.

Analysis: The appeal concerned refund of unutilised Cenvat credit claimed by an exporter of services under Rule 5 of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004 read with Notification No. 18/2012-C.E. dated 17.03.2012. The denial rested on the alleged absence of supporting invoices or challans and on the objection that some invoices did not fully comply with Rule 4A of the Service Tax Rules, 1994 and Rule 9(2) of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004. The Tribunal found that the appellant asserted production of the relevant invoices and challans and that these documents had not been properly examined by the lower authorities. It also held that omission of the service provider's registration number on some invoices was only a technical lapse where the receipt and use of input services could otherwise be established.

Conclusion: The refund rejection could not be sustained on the existing record, and the matter was remanded to the original authority for fresh consideration of the documents and for a decision after hearing the appellant.

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