Self-assessment refund claim cannot be denied where no appealable assessment order or decision exists.

Refund of service tax paid under self-assessment could not be denied merely because no appeal was filed against an assessment order or decision that did not exist. The tribunal noted that the tax had been paid on the assessee's own understanding, and there was no assessment order, no adjudication, and no appealable decision by the Central Excise officer. In that situation, the principle barring refund without first challenging an assessment order did not apply. The refund claim was therefore not barred on that ground, and the assessee was entitled to refund relief.

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Issues: Whether refund of service tax paid on self-assessment can be denied for want of an appeal against any assessment or decision by the Central Excise officer.

Analysis: The appellants had paid service tax on their own understanding and later claimed refund on the footing that no tax was payable. The refund was rejected on the basis that assessment had not been challenged, applying the principles in cases concerning refunds after a completed assessment order. The factual position here was different: there was no assessment order, no decision by the Central Excise officer, and no material showing any adjudication capable of being appealed against. In such circumstances, the bar against seeking refund without challenging the assessment did not arise. The rule that an appeal lies against an order or decision of a subordinate officer could not be extended to a case of self-assessment where no such order existed.

Conclusion: The refund claim could not be rejected for failure to challenge an assessment that did not exist, and the assessee was entitled to succeed.

Final Conclusion: The denial of refund was unsustainable because no appealable assessment or decision had been passed, and the assessee's own self-assessment could not be treated as a bar to refund relief.

Ratio Decidendi: A refund claim cannot be denied on the ground that the assessee failed to challenge an assessment where no assessment order or appealable decision by the authority exists and the tax was paid only under self-assessment.

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