Registration of Premises Not Mandatory to Claim Refund of Unutilized

In a significant procedural relief for businesses, the Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that the registration of premises is not a mandatory prerequisite for claiming a refund of unutilized CENVAT credit on input services. The lower authorities had rejected a company's refund claim on the grounds that the services were rendered from premises that were not registered with the service tax department at the time. However, the tribunal, citing previous court rulings, stated that the substantive benefit of a refund cannot be denied for a mere procedural lapse, especially when the assessee was otherwise eligible and had maintained proper records. The decision emphasizes that as long as the input services have been legitimately used for providing output services (such as exports), the refund should be granted, preventing procedural technicalities from overriding substantive entitlements.