Modvat credit after merger cannot be denied solely for an invoice in the old unit's name where merger is established.

Modvat credit could not be denied merely because the invoice was issued in the name of a merged unit, where the record showed that the named unit had already merged into the respondent and formed part of the same manufacturing entity. The earlier Tribunal ruling recognising the merger under Rule 57S(5) of the Central Excise Rules, 1944, was applied, and the pendency of a reference application before the High Court was not a valid reason to refuse to follow that decision in the respondent's own case. Credit was therefore correctly allowed, and the Revenue's challenge failed.

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Issues: Whether Modvat credit could be denied merely because the invoice stood in the name of a merged unit and whether pendency of a reference application before the High Court justified refusing to follow an earlier Tribunal decision in the same matter.

Analysis: The invoice related to a unit that had already merged into the respondent and the dispute was whether the document in the old name could still support credit. The appellate authority had relied on the earlier Tribunal ruling holding the merger to be valid under Rule 57S(5) of the Central Excise Rules, 1944, and on the principle that a document issued in the name of one unit does not by itself bar Modvat credit where the record shows that the named unit forms part of the same manufacturing entity. The pendency of a reference application was held not to be a valid ground for refusing to apply that decision in the respondent's own case.

Conclusion: The Modvat credit was rightly allowed and the Revenue's challenge failed.

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