Refund claim requires proper examination of exemption evidence before rejection; matter remanded for fresh decision.

Refund of service tax could not be rejected without first examining the evidence relied on by the claimant, including year-wise gross receipt statements and Form 26AS. The Tribunal found that the lower authorities had proceeded mainly on the assignment letter and had not properly considered whether the receipts for the relevant financial years stayed within the exemption threshold. The impugned order was set aside and the matter was remanded to the adjudication authority for fresh decision after considering the documents and evidence in accordance with law.

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Issues: Whether the rejection of the refund claim was sustainable without proper examination of the documents and evidence relied upon by the appellant.

Analysis: The appellant sought refund of service tax on the footing that the receipts for the relevant financial years remained within the exemption threshold. The record included material such as year-wise statements of gross receipts and Form 26AS, while the lower authorities proceeded on the basis of the assignment letter and rejected the claim. The Tribunal found that the relevant documents ought to have been examined before disallowing the refund claim.

Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside and the matter was remanded to the adjudication authority for fresh decision after considering the evidence, in accordance with law.

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