Refund of service tax on canalised exports depends on ownership, contractual responsibility, and compliance with refund conditions.

Refund of service tax under Notification No. 17/2009-ST may be available where export of goods is compulsorily routed through a canalising agency, if the claimant remains the owner of the goods, bears the substantive contractual obligations, and satisfies the refund conditions. The note states that export of manganese ore through MMTC did not prevent the appellant from being treated as the exporter because the arrangement was a back-to-back contract driven by Foreign Trade Policy restrictions. It further records compliance with the refund requirements, including timely filing, non-availment of CENVAT credit, proper documentation, and nexus between the taxable services and the export.

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Issues: Whether the appellant was entitled to refund of service tax under Notification No. 17/2009-ST for services used in exporting manganese ore through MMTC, and whether the appellant could still be treated as the exporter despite the export being routed through the canalising agency.

Analysis: The export of manganese ore was restricted by the Foreign Trade Policy and could be effected only through MMTC. The arrangement was a back-to-back contract in which the appellant remained the owner of the goods, bore the contractual responsibilities for quality and quantity, and effected export through MMTC only because of the policy restriction. The record also showed compliance with the refund conditions, including timely filing, non-availment of CENVAT credit, proper supporting documents, and a nexus between the taxable services and the export of goods. In these circumstances, the appellant was treated as an exporter for the purpose of the refund notification, notwithstanding the intermediary role of MMTC.

Conclusion: The refund was held admissible and the appellant succeeded.

Final Conclusion: The impugned order was not sustained, and the refund sanction in favour of the appellant stood restored with consequential relief.

Ratio Decidendi: A claimant may be treated as the exporter for refund purposes where export is compulsorily routed through a canalising agency under the export policy, but the claimant retains ownership and bears the substantive contractual responsibility for the exported goods and satisfies the refund conditions.

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