Modvat credit cannot be refused on missing duplicate invoices alone where duty-paid inputs require substantive verification.

Modvat credit could not be denied solely because duplicate invoices were unavailable where the assessee claimed the invoices had been produced and the surrounding facts required substantive verification. After remand under Rule 57G(11) of the Central Excise Rules, the authorities were bound to examine whether the inputs were duty-paid and actually received and used, rather than rejecting the claim on a technical objection about missing copies. The credit denial was therefore not sustained, and the matter was reopened for fresh scrutiny of the original documents and reconsideration on merits.

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Issues: Whether Modvat credit could be denied merely because duplicate invoices were not available, and whether the authorities were bound to apply Rule 57G(11) of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 after remand by the appellate authority.

Analysis: The record showed that the assessee asserted production of the duplicate invoices, and the dispute was whether some of them had been misplaced in the Range office. Once the Commissioner (Appeals) had directed consideration under Rule 57G(11), the lower authorities were required to examine whether duty on the inputs had in fact been paid and whether the inputs had actually been received and used, rather than rejecting the claim on a narrow insistence regarding the missing duplicate copies. The authorities below did not properly apply the rule or establish that the inputs were not duty-paid.

Conclusion: The denial of credit was not sustained. The matter was remanded for fresh scrutiny of the original documents and appropriate relief in accordance with Rule 57G(11).

Final Conclusion: The assessee's claim was restored for reconsideration on merits under the applicable Modvat relaxation provision, and the adjudication was reopened for fresh decision.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the applicable Modvat rule requires the authority to verify the duty-paid character of inputs, credit cannot be denied solely on a technical objection regarding missing duplicate invoices if the documents and surrounding facts call for substantive verification.

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