Refund claim filed before wrong departmental authority within limitation was not time-barred

A refund claim under Notification No. 41/2007-S.T. was filed within the prescribed 60-day period, and the only defect was presentation before the Deputy Commissioner of Service Tax instead of the jurisdictional Central Excise authority. Because both offices were within the same department, the initial filing within limitation could not be treated as time-barred merely for having been made before the wrong authority. The Revenue's challenge therefore failed.

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Issues: Whether a refund claim under Notification No. 41/2007-S.T. filed within the prescribed time but before the wrong departmental authority was barred by limitation.

Analysis: The claim was first filed within the prescribed 60-day period. The only defect was presentation before the Deputy Commissioner of Service Tax instead of the jurisdictional Central Excise authority. Since both offices functioned within the same department, filing before the wrong authority within limitation could not be treated as filing beyond time.

Conclusion: The refund claim was not barred by limitation merely because it was initially filed before the wrong authority, and the Revenue's challenge failed.

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