SEZ Refund Allowed

The Hyderabad Bench of the CESTAT has held that refund of service tax paid on services received for authorised operations in a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) cannot be denied merely on account of procedural or documentary deficiencies. 

The Tribunal observed that once the receipt of services, payment of service tax and their utilisation for authorised operations are undisputed, substantive benefits under the SEZ framework must prevail over technical lapses in documentation. 

Accordingly, the rejection of the refund claim was set aside.