Refund of unutilised service tax credit cannot be denied on technical defects when substantive eligibility requires fresh examination.

Refund of unutilised service tax credit arising from export-related input services should not be refused solely for procedural lapses where the underlying tax payment and receipt of service are not in dispute. The authority must examine the claim on merits and consider supporting confirmations, CA certification and other material already produced, after granting a reasonable opportunity to furnish required documents. Where the existing record is incomplete or overlooked, the proper course is reconsideration rather than final rejection on technical objections.

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Issues: Whether the refund of unutilised service tax credit could be denied on procedural grounds and the matter required remand for fresh consideration after granting opportunity to produce documents.

Analysis: The refund claim arose from unutilised Cenvat credit on export-related input services. The rejection was based mainly on non-submission of requisitioned documents and objections relating to the manner in which certain input services were classified by vendors. The record showed that supporting confirmations and CA certification had been produced, and the material relied upon by the assessee had not been considered by the lower authority. The denial was found unsustainable where the underlying tax payment and receipt of service were not in dispute and the claim required examination on merits after giving a reasonable opportunity of hearing.

Conclusion: The refund could not be finally rejected on the existing record, and the matter was required to be reconsidered by the original authority after giving the assessee an opportunity to furnish the necessary documents.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded in part by securing a remand for fresh adjudication of the refund claim, with a direction for expeditious disposal.

Ratio Decidendi: A refund claim should not be denied merely on technical or procedural deficiencies where the substantive eligibility is required to be examined after affording a fair opportunity to the claimant.

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