2015 (7) TMI 635 - KERALA HIGH COURT

Refund claim - no service tax is leviable for the service - whether the petitioner is entitled for refund of the amount claimed after one year from the relevant date apart from the question relating to alternate remedy available to the petitioner. - Held that:- The question of alternative remedy would arise if service tax is otherwise leviable under the Central Excise Act. Herein, in this case, there is no dispute with regard to the fact that no service tax is leviable for the service extended by the petitioner to the Muscat Bank SAOG. Thus, the writ petition is maintainable when the amount is arbitrarily withheld without any justification under law as the refund claimed by the petitioner is not relatable to Section 11B of the Central Excise Act. Similar view was also taken by the Karnataka High Court in K.V.R. Constructions v. Commissioner of Central Excise (Appeals) and another [2009 (8) TMI 150 - KARNATAKA HIGH COURT] and by the Madras High Court in Natraj and Venkat Associates v. Asst.Commr. Of S.T., Chennai-II [2009 (10) TMI 36 - MADRAS HIGH COURT] - refund allowed - Decided in favour of assessee.