SEZ service tax refund accepted where post-service approval by the Development Commissioner satisfied notification requirements.

Refund of service tax on Real Estate Agent Service and Management Consultant Service used for authorised SEZ operations was treated as admissible where approval of the specified services was obtained after receipt of the services. The Tribunal read Notification No. 12/2013-ST, especially Paragraph 3, as not requiring prior approval before availing the services, and followed the appellant's earlier case and cited precedent. Subsequent approval by the Development Commissioner was held sufficient to satisfy the notification condition, so refund could not be denied on that procedural ground when the services were otherwise used for authorised operations.

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Issues: Whether refund of service tax paid on Real Estate Agent Service and Management Consultant Service was admissible where approval of the specified services was obtained after receipt of the services for use in authorised operations of the Special Economic Zone.

Analysis: The dispute turned on the interpretation of Notification No. 12/2013-ST dated 01.07.2013, particularly the requirement in Para 3 relating to approval of specified services. The denial rested on the premise that prior approval was mandatory before availing the services. The Tribunal followed the earlier decision in the appellant's own case and the cited precedent, holding that subsequent approval by the Development Commissioner satisfied the notification requirement for refund and that the benefit could not be denied on this procedural ground where the services were otherwise used for authorised SEZ operations.

Conclusion: The refund could not be denied merely because approval was obtained after receipt of the services. The rejection of refund was unsustainable and the appeal was allowed.

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