Modvat credit time limit under Rule 57G upheld, with credit denied for being taken beyond the prescribed period.

Modvat credit was time-barred where it was taken beyond six months from the date of the duty paying documents, and a Bill of Entry fell within the documents covered by Rule 57G. The adjudicating authority did not travel beyond the show cause notice because the notice had alleged contravention of Rule 57G and credit taken without proper duty paying documents, which necessarily included the six-month restriction. The Tribunal also applied the view that the amendment to Rule 57G operated prospectively. The disallowance of credit was therefore upheld.

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Issues: Whether Modvat credit could be denied for having been availed beyond six months from the date of the duty paying documents, including a Bill of Entry, and whether disallowance on that ground travelled beyond the scope of the show cause notice.

Analysis: The notice specifically alleged contravention of Rule 57G and the taking of Modvat credit without proper duty paying documents. Since Rule 57G itself prescribed that credit could not be taken after six months from the date of the duty paying documents, the adjudicating authority did not exceed the notice by disallowing credit on that basis. The six-month restriction applied to the documents covered by Rule 57G, including a Bill of Entry. The Tribunal also relied on the Supreme Court's view that the amendment to Rule 57G was prospective and that credit could not be taken after the prescribed period.

Conclusion: The credit was correctly denied as time-barred, and the challenge to the disallowance failed.

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