Refund of Service tax paid - time limitation - The Appellate...

Refund of Service tax paid - time limitation - The Appellate Tribunal examined the submissions and found that the appellant had self-assessed and paid service tax without claiming the benefit of an exemption notification. Since neither the Central Excise officer modified the assessment nor was the self-assessment appealed against before the Commissioner (Appeals), the assessment remained unchanged. - The Tribunal concluded that refund proceedings cannot modify assessments, whether self-assessed or not. They emphasized that refund proceedings are akin to execution proceedings and should follow the assessment made, without altering it. Therefore, the Tribunal upheld the impugned order, rejecting the appellant's appeal.