Prospective Modvat declaration cannot revive a rejected prior claim; suo motu credit for the closed period is inadmissible.

A fresh Modvat declaration operates prospectively from its filing date unless it lawfully reopens an earlier rejected claim. Here, the declaration dated 7-7-1992 was filed as a new declaration and expressly left the earlier period to refund claims, while the prior claim for 1987 to 1992 had already been rejected and that rejection was confirmed. The later order permitting credit on felts and wires applied only from the date of the fresh declaration and did not revive the closed period. Credit taken suo motu for the earlier period was therefore irregular and not admissible.

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Issues: Whether the declaration dated 7-7-1992 could be treated as reviving the earlier rejected declaration so as to permit Modvat credit on felts and wires for the period 1987 to 1992.

Analysis: The declaration dated 7-7-1992 was filed as a fresh declaration seeking acknowledgment from that date onwards, while expressly indicating that refund claims would be filed for the earlier period. The earlier claim for the period 1987 to 1992 had already been rejected and that rejection had been confirmed. The later order allowing credit on felts and wires was confined to the fresh declaration from its date and did not reopen the earlier closed period. Since the appellants took credit suo motu for the prior period without a valid revival of the earlier claim, the credit was found to be irregular and unsupported.

Conclusion: The declaration did not revive the earlier rejected entitlement, and Modvat credit for the period 1987 to 1992 was not admissible.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed because the disputed credit related to a period already foreclosed by the earlier adjudication and was not validated by the subsequent declaration or order.

Ratio Decidendi: A fresh declaration for Modvat credit operates prospectively from its date unless it expressly and lawfully reopens the earlier period; credit taken suo motu for a previously rejected period is irregular and cannot be sustained.

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