Case Law Analysis
|Custom, Excise & Service Tax Tribunal
Limitation period cannot defeat SEZ exemption for service tax refunds | SEZ unit claim : CESTAT (Hyderabad)
A SEZ unit’s claim for service tax refund was allowed despite filing beyond the six-month limit, because the SEZ Act’s substantive exemption prevails over procedural time bars. This clarifies that revenue authorities cannot reject refunds solely on limitation grounds for SEZ entities. The ruling benefits all SEZ manufacturers seeking tax refunds for pre-2011 periods.