08 December 2010
The status of the recipient of the export service is important. If the recipient has no office or agent in India, in that case the exported service , subject to rules, would be exempt from service tax.
As per the query the understanding is as under:
1)The assessee provides only one service;
2)This service is covered under Service Tax (Export of Services) Rules and hence is exempted from payment of tax;
3) There is no service provided which is taxable.
Service tax once paid to the Government, is payment against a particular service. Since the assessee is provider of a single service and if the service is exempt as export service, then one fails to understand as to how the service tax paid can be adjusted in a future year.
Within one year of the payment of tax, the assessee should apply for refund of the Service Tax paid in excess (wrongly)in the relevant Form 7A as prescribed by Central Excise Rules and follow it through.