Refund limitation under section 11B and lack of proof of tax payment defeated the service tax refund claim.

Refund claims under section 11B, as applied to service tax, must be filed within one year from the relevant date. The claim failed because the appellant could not substantiate with challans and records that the disputed amount represented tax paid on non-taxable services within the prescribed period. The refund was therefore not proved maintainable to the extent disallowed, and the rejection was sustained in favour of the Revenue.

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Issues: Whether the refund claim was barred by limitation under section 11B of the Central Excise Act, 1944 as made applicable to service tax, and whether the appellant had substantiated entitlement to the claimed refund amount.

Analysis: The statutory scheme requires refund applications to be filed within one year from the relevant date. The amount claimed was examined against the available challans and records, but the authorities found that the appellant could not establish with supporting evidence that the entire disputed amount related to tax paid on non-taxable services within the limitation period. The claim was therefore not proved to be maintainable within the time prescribed by law.

Conclusion: The refund claim was held to be barred by limitation to the extent disallowed, and the rejection of the refund was sustained in favour of the Revenue.

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