The appellant's claim for refund of service tax paid on services...

The appellant's claim for refund of service tax paid on services rendered to KSIDC, contended to be a governmental authority under exemption notification 25/2012-ST, was rejected. The appellant failed to discharge the burden of proving KSIDC's status as a governmental authority under Article 243W of the Constitution or under the relevant exemption notification, relying solely on unverified website content. The tribunal held that without statutory or legal evidence, the exemption could not be granted. Further, the refund claim was barred by limitation under Section 11B of the CEA, 1944, as applied to the Finance Act, and the appellant's payment was not a mistaken payment of law. The provisions of Section 73A were found inapplicable. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, affirming the original orders, with no interference warranted.