Export refund claims must be tested under the governing period's circular, not later rules, before denying relief.

Refund claims for export of services must be examined under the circular and legal regime governing the claim period, and later clarifications or the Place of Provision of Services Rules, 2012 cannot be applied mechanically to deny relief for an earlier period. For category III services, the location of the service receiver and accrual of benefit outside India remained material, and export could exist even where activities were performed in India. A rejection based on absence of nexus and incomplete consideration of the applicable circulars was therefore unsustainable without a full factual and legal reassessment, and the matter was remanded for fresh adjudication.

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Issues: Whether the refund claim relating to export of services was liable to be rejected on the grounds of absence of nexus, reliance on a later circular and place of provision rules, and whether the matter required remand for fresh adjudication.

Analysis: The refund claim had to be examined under the governing circular applicable to the claim period, and the later clarification and the Place of Provision of Services Rules, 2012 could not be applied mechanically to deny relief for an earlier period. The relevant circular contemplated that, for category III services, the location of the service receiver and the accrual of benefit outside India were material, and export of service could occur even if the activities were performed in India. The earlier appellate order had also proceeded on an assumption regarding the appellant's status as a passive holding or subsidiary entity without proper hearing on that aspect. The denial of refund on the basis of nexus and incomplete consideration of the circulars therefore could not be sustained without a fresh examination of the factual and legal position.

Conclusion: The refund dispute was restored for reconsideration and the rejection order was set aside, with the matter remanded to the appellate authority for fresh decision on the eligible refund items.

Ratio Decidendi: Refund claims relating to export of services must be determined under the governing circular and legal regime applicable to the claim period, and later rules or incomplete reliance on subsequent clarifications cannot be used to deny export refund without full consideration of the applicable criteria.

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