Tribunal orders refund with interest, Adjudicating Authority directed to comply within 60 days.

The Tribunal allowed the appeal, directing the Adjudicating Authority to grant the refund within sixty days along with interest under Section 11BB of the Central Excise Act.

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Issues involved:
1. Whether the Commissioner (Appeals) rightly remanded the matter of refund for further examination to the Court below.

Analysis:
The appellant, a service provider registered with the Service Tax Department, filed a refund application after realizing they had not taken cenvat credit on certain invoices and were entitled to credit for service tax paid under RCM after a specific date. The Adjudicating Authority rejected the refund claim, stating that refunds were only allowable in cases of unutilized credit due to export, not for the inability to carry forward part of the cenvat credit to the GST regime. The Commissioner (Appeals) found that the appellant was eligible for a refund of the balance cenvat credit under the transitional provision of Section 142(9)(b) of the CGST Act. The Commissioner observed that the appellant had complied with the prescribed procedures and remanded the matter for recalculation of the refund amount.

The Revenue appealed before the Tribunal, arguing that the Commissioner (Appeals) lacked the power to remand the matter and should have made a definitive decision. The respondent's counsel contended that no further compliance was necessary under Section 142(9)(b), and the Commissioner (Appeals) could have granted the refund without remanding the matter. The Tribunal examined the provisions of Section 142(9)(b) and found that if any additional amount is found refundable to an assessee upon filing a revised return within the specified time limit, the same shall be refunded under the existing law. The Tribunal held that no further inquiry was necessary, and based on the Commissioner (Appeals) finding, the assessee was entitled to the refund. The Tribunal allowed the appeal, directing the Adjudicating Authority to grant the refund within sixty days along with interest under Section 11BB of the Central Excise Act.

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