Procedural lapse cannot defeat export-related service tax refund on foreign commission when substantive exemption conditions are met.

Refund of service tax paid on commission to a foreign agent could not be denied merely because the commission was not declared on the shipping bill, where the exporter had filed the prescribed application and half-yearly return and the substantive exemption conditions were otherwise satisfied. The omission was treated as a procedural lapse, and the notification was construed liberally in the export context. The bar of unjust enrichment was also rejected on the facts, so the refund claim was upheld and the Revenue's challenge failed.

---

---

Issues: Whether refund of service tax paid on commission paid to a foreign commission agent could be denied for non-declaration of the commission amount on the shipping bill under Notification No. 18/2009-ST dated 07/07/2009, and whether the claim was barred by unjust enrichment.

Analysis: The service tax liability on commission paid to a person outside India was not in dispute, nor was the export of goods. The only objection was that the commission amount was not declared on the shipping bill, though the exporter had filed the prescribed application and half-yearly return. The omission was held to be a procedural lapse, because the substantive conditions for availing the exemption were otherwise satisfied. The notification was to be construed liberally in an export-oriented context, and denial of refund for a technical defect was considered unjust. The bar of unjust enrichment was also rejected on the footing that exports are not hit by that principle in the circumstances of the case.

Conclusion: The refund could not be denied merely for non-declaration of commission on the shipping bill, and the claim was not barred by unjust enrichment.

Final Conclusion: The Revenue's challenge failed and the refund order in favour of the exporter was sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: A refund arising from exemption-linked service tax paid on foreign commission cannot be refused for a mere procedural lapse such as non-declaration on the shipping bill when the substantive eligibility conditions are undisputed and the claim is otherwise not hit by unjust enrichment.

---