TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2011 (6) TMI 27
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....n order dated 18-3-2011 passed by the Deputy Commissioner of Service Tax-I, Division III, in so far as interest has been disallowed to the Petitioners on a claim for refund. The grievance of the Petitioners is that this is contrary to the express terms of section 11BB of the Central Excise Act, 1944 and a finding of the Commissioner (Appeals) dated 15-10-2010. 3. The case of the Petitioners is that in anticipation of the import of intellectual property services, they had applied for and obtained service tax registration under section 69 of the Finance Act, 1994. The Petitioners had made an application to the Reserve Bank for the remittance of funds abroad, for a proposed acquisition of the registration of certain agro-chemical products i....
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.... as to why the refund claim should not be rejected on the ground that they had failed to establish that the incidence of service tax had not been passed on by them. The Assistant Commissioner by an order dated 24-4-2007 rejected the refund claim of the Petitioners holding that the Petitioners had not furnished any documentary or concrete evidence as required under section 11B(1) of the Central Excise Act, 1944 as made applicable to service tax to establish that the amount of service tax in respect of which the refund claim had been filed was collected from or paid by the assessee and that the incidence of such tax had not been passed on. The Petitioners challenged the order of the Assistant Commissioner in appeal. By an order dated 15-10-20....
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....ity of the refund claim. Hence, the sanction of the claim is after extending natural justice and within time. Therefore the interest is not payable." 6. Counsel appearing on behalf of the Petitioners submitted that once the claim for refund has been allowed, the entitlement of the Petitioners to interest under section 11BB as applicable to service tax is statutory. The Petitioners had as a matter of fact filed a certificate of the Chartered Accountant together with the refund application on 13-7-2006 and had thereafter by a letter dated 8-11-2006 also produced the Balance-sheet as of 31-3-2006. The Commissioner (Appeals) by the order dated 15-10-2010 had expressly entered a finding that the adjudicating authority had erred in coming to t....
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....pt of the application under sub-section (1) of that section, the applicant shall be paid interest at the rate stipulated on such duty from the date immediately after the expiry of three months from the date of receipt of the application till the date of refund of such duty. The entitlement of the applicant, once the requisite conditions have been fulfilled follows as a matter of law and is a mandate of the statute. The record before the Court makes it clear that the application that was submitted by the Petitioners was together with the relevant documentary evidence. The finding of the adjudicating authority that the Petitioners had not submitted relevant documentary evidence has been reversed by the Commissioner (Appeals) and it has been f....