Modvat credit cannot be denied for unauthenticated invoices when duty payment is otherwise established.

Modvat credit could not be denied merely because invoices were unauthenticated where the duty-paid nature of the documents was not in dispute. The defect was procedural, and a procedural lapse alone was insufficient to defeat substantive entitlement to credit once payment of duty was otherwise established. On that basis, denial of credit on the sole ground of unauthenticated invoices was unsustainable, and the Revenue's challenge failed.

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Issues: Whether Modvat credit could be denied merely because the invoices were not authenticated, when the duty-paid nature of the documents was not in dispute.

Analysis: The denial rested only on an authentication defect in the invoices. The disputed documents evidenced duty payment, and the defect was procedural in nature. A procedural lapse was held not to justify denial of credit where the substantive entitlement was otherwise established.

Conclusion: Modvat credit could not be denied on the sole ground of unauthenticated invoices, and the appeal by the Revenue failed.

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