Service tax refund claims were time-barred under statutory limitation despite reliance on the later Calcutta Club ruling.

Refund of service tax paid on club or association services remained subject to the statutory limitation under Section 11B, as applied through Section 83 of the Finance Act, 1994. Because the assessee had voluntarily paid the tax and filed the refund claims long after payment, the claims were barred by time. The argument that limitation should run only from the later Supreme Court ruling in Calcutta Club Limited was rejected, as that decision did not reset limitation for all similarly placed taxpayers. The refund rejection was therefore sustained.

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Issues: Whether the refund claims for service tax paid on club or association services were barred by limitation under Section 11B, and whether the limitation could be counted from the later Supreme Court ruling in Calcutta Club Limited.

Analysis: The refund claims were filed long after the dates of payment for the relevant periods. The appellant had paid service tax without challenging the levy at the relevant time. The plea that limitation should start only from the date of the Supreme Court decision was rejected, since the litigants in that matter were not treated as acting on behalf of all members or similarly placed entities. The refund of service tax paid under the service tax regime was held to be governed by Section 11B as made applicable by Section 83 of the Finance Act, 1994.

Conclusion: The refund claims were held to be time-barred, and the rejection of refund was sustained against the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The appeals failed because the refund claims could not escape the statutory limitation applicable to service tax refunds.

Ratio Decidendi: Refund of service tax is subject to the limitation under Section 11B where the tax was voluntarily paid and the claim is not filed within the prescribed period.

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