Tribunal allows refund appeal for services to Regional Cancer Centre and Vadakara Taluk Hospital

The tribunal modified the order in appeal, allowing the appeal for refund claims related to services provided to the Regional Cancer Centre, Trivandrum, and Vadakara Taluk Hospital. However, the rejection of the refund claim for services provided to M/s CAPE, Kerala, was upheld due to the entity not meeting the criteria of being a governmental authority under significant government control.

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Issues involved: Appeal against the impugned Order in Appeal rejecting refund claim for service tax paid during a specific period for works contract services provided to the government.

Refund Claim for Regional Cancer Centre, Trivandrum: The appellant submitted relevant documents including agreements, invoices, VAT returns, and service tax paid, but the refund was rejected for lack of bills raised on RCC. The appellant argued that all necessary documents were enclosed, making the refund admissible. The tribunal found the claim admissible based on the submitted documents.

Refund Claim for Cooperative Academy of Professional Education (CAPE): The authorized representative contended that CAPE was not a governmental authority as it was not set up by a state legislature act or established by the State government. The tribunal upheld the rejection of the refund claim for CAPE based on the lack of control by the State government.

Refund Claim for Vadakara Taluk Hospital: The appellant submitted agreements, invoices, VAT returns, and service tax paid, asserting the refund was admissible. The authorized representative argued that bills raised were not produced to verify the tax payment on exempted services. The tribunal found the submitted documents sufficient to support the refund claim for services provided to the hospital.

Admissibility of Refund to M/s CAPE, Kerala: The tribunal examined the definition of 'governmental authority' and found that M/s CAPE did not meet the criteria of being set up by an Act of Parliament or State Legislature, or established by the Government with 90% or more participation. As CAPE was not under significant government control, the tribunal upheld the rejection of the refund claim.

Final Decision: The tribunal modified the order in appeal, allowing the appeal only for the refund claims related to services provided to the Regional Cancer Centre, Trivandrum, and Vadakara Taluk hospital, while upholding the rejection of the refund claim for services provided to M/s CAPE, Kerala.

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