GEOJIT BNP PARIBAS FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD. Vs. COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL EXCISE CUSTOMS & SERVICE TAX AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is a company engaged in providing retail financial services like share stock and share brokering, marketing of IPO of companies and mutual funds, corporate advisory services etc. They have approached this Court challenging an order rejecting their claim for refund of the amount paid mistakenly as service tax.

(2.) The petitioner, for the payment received from the Bank of Muscat SAOG for the service rendered, remitted service tax amounting to Rs.1,72,339/- for the period from April 2012 to March 2013. They made an application for refund of service tax for the reason that they need not pay the same, since the recipient of such service was located outside India and the payment received was in convertible foreign exchange which qualifies as export of service. The application was submitted on 23/2/2015. The said application was rejected by Ext.P7 order stating that it was filed beyond one year from the relevant date. This order is under challenge before this Court.

(3.) The claim was rejected citing Section 11B(1) of the Central Excise Act, 1944 which is made applicable to service tax purposes by virtue of Section 83 of the Finance Act, 1994. In this case, payments were made on 6/7/2012, 5/10/2012, 5/1/2013 and 28/3/2013. It was found that since the refund claim was submitted only on 24/02/2015, it was barred by limitation and therefore, the petitioner is ineligible for refund of the amount claimed.