Deemed Modvat credit under the notification had to be taken at clearance; Rule 57G limitation did not govern.

Notification No. 29/96-C.E. (N.T.) permitted deemed Modvat credit only at the time of clearance of the final products, so credit taken after clearance was not permissible. The notification was treated as a specific provision governing availment of deemed credit and therefore prevailed over the general Rule 57G(3) and Rule 57G(5) limitation framework. The six-month period in Rule 57G(5) applied to credit claimed on prescribed duty-paying documents, not to deemed credit under the notification. Accordingly, the timing condition in the notification controlled the availment of such credit.

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Issues: Whether deemed Modvat credit under Notification No. 29/96-C.E. (N.T.) could be availed after the clearance of the final products, and whether the six-month limitation under Rule 57G(5) of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 applied to such deemed credit.

Analysis: The notification allowed the credit of declared duty deemed to have been paid to the manufacturer without production of documents evidencing payment of duty on the inputs, but only at the time of clearance of the final products. The wording of the notification was treated as a specific provision governing the availment of deemed credit. On that construction, credit taken long after the clearance of the goods was not permissible. The six-month period in Rule 57G(5), read with Rule 57G(3), was held to relate to credit taken on the strength of prescribed duty-paying documents and not to deemed credit under the notification. The specific notification therefore prevailed over the general rule provisions.

Conclusion: Deemed credit could not be availed after the clearance of the final products, and the appeal failed.

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