SEZ service tax refund limitation treated under the later one-year time limit for pending claims, not the earlier six-month period.

Refund claims for service tax paid on services used for authorised operations in an SEZ were discussed under the filing time limits in Notification No. 9/2009-ST and Notification No. 17/2011-ST. The earlier notification prescribed a six-month period, while the later notification extended the period to one year. Because the adjudicating authority decided the claims after Notification No. 17/2011-ST had come into force, the later time limit was treated as applicable to pending claims. The claims were therefore not regarded as time-barred merely because they were filed beyond six months, and the matter was remitted for fresh decision on the merits.

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Issues: Whether refund claims of service tax paid on services used for authorised operations in an SEZ were barred by limitation, and whether the time limit under Notification No. 17/2011-ST applied to claims pending on the date of adjudication.

Analysis: The refund claims had been rejected on limitation as well as on the ground that the services were not required for authorised operations. The governing scheme under Notification No. 9/2009-ST originally prescribed a six-month period for filing refund claims, while Notification No. 17/2011-ST superseded it and extended the time limit to one year. Since the adjudicating authority decided the claims after Notification No. 17/2011-ST had come into force, the time limit then in force was held applicable to pending claims. Following the earlier tribunal view relied upon in the order, the claims could not be treated as time-barred merely because they were filed beyond the earlier six-month period.

Conclusion: The refund claims were held to be within time, and the matter was remitted to the adjudicating authority for fresh decision on the merits of the refund claim.

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