Refund under self-assessment requires prior challenge to assessment, and statutory limitation and unjust enrichment still apply.

Refund of service tax paid under self-assessment was treated as unavailable where the assessment or self-assessment had not first been challenged in appeal. The Tribunal applied the statutory refund framework as an exclusive remedy and held that a refund authority cannot indirectly reopen an unchallenged self-assessment. It also held that the statutory limitation period governed refund claims and could not be avoided by describing the payment as mistaken. On unjust enrichment, the Tribunal found that the tax had been collected from service recipients and that the evidence relied on did not establish the appellants' own entitlement to refund, rendering the claims hit by unjust enrichment.

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Issues: Whether refund of service tax paid under self-assessment was maintainable without first challenging the self-assessment in appeal; whether the refund claims were barred by limitation under the statutory refund provision; and whether the claims were hit by unjust enrichment.

Analysis: The refund claims were filed on the basis that the services were not taxable, but the amounts had been paid and reflected through self-assessment returns without any prior modification of those returns in appeal. The statutory refund framework applicable to service tax, through the Central Excise refund provision, was treated as an exclusive remedy, and the Tribunal relied on Supreme Court authority to hold that a refund authority cannot sit in appeal over an unchallenged self-assessment. The Tribunal further held that, where the claims were made under the statutory refund provision, the prescribed limitation governed the claims and could not be bypassed merely by characterising the payment as mistaken. On unjust enrichment, the Tribunal noted that the appellants themselves had collected the tax from the service recipients, and the evidence relied upon related to a different claimant, not to the appellants' own refund entitlement.

Conclusion: The refund claims were held to be not maintainable in the present form, were treated as barred by limitation, and were also found to be affected by unjust enrichment.

Final Conclusion: The matter was directed to be placed before the President for reference to a larger bench on the question whether refund of service tax is maintainable absent challenge to the assessment or self-assessment in appeal.

Ratio Decidendi: A refund claim under the statutory refund regime cannot be used to indirectly reopen an unchallenged self-assessment, and the claimant must satisfy the statutory limitation and unjust enrichment requirements before refund can be granted.

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