https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=783711 Rejection of a service tax refund was vitiated by breach of natural justice because the adjudicating authority admittedly denied a pre-decisional personal hearing; the appellate authority could not cure this defect by treating the appellate hearing as a post-decisional substitute, contrary to SC law, and the impugned appellate orders were therefore set aside. On the substantive entitlement, denial of refund on procedural non-compliance with a Finance Act, 1994 notification and Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004 was inconsistent with the legal position that SEZ exemptions under s.26 of the SEZ Act operate independently and cannot be defeated by procedural conditions imported via notifications except as statutorily contemplated; consequently, the appeal was allowed and the Orders-in-Appeal were set aside. en-us Tue, 16 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0530 Mon, 22 Dec 2025 07:49:15 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=783711 Rejection of a service tax refund was vitiated by breach of natural justice because the adjudicating authority admittedly denied a pre-decisional personal hearing; the appellate authority could not cure this defect by treating the appellate hearing as a post-decisional substitute, contrary to SC law, and the impugned appellate orders were therefore set aside. On the substantive entitlement, denial of refund on procedural non-compliance with a Finance Act, 1994 notification and Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004 was inconsistent with the legal position that SEZ exemptions under s.26 of the SEZ Act operate independently and cannot be defeated by procedural conditions imported via notifications except as statutorily contemplated; consequently, the appeal was allowed and the Orders-in-Appeal were set aside. Case-Laws Service Tax Tue, 16 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=783711