Time computation for Modvat credit: invoice date excluded, so credit taken on the last permissible day was valid.

Rule 57G(5) of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 was read to prohibit Modvat credit only after six months from the date of issue of the invoice, and the computation of that period was governed by Section 9 of the General Clauses Act, 1897. The first day was excluded and the last day included when reckoning six months, so the invoice date itself was not counted. On that basis, credit taken on the corresponding last day was within time and not time-barred.

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Issues: Whether credit under Rule 57G(5) of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 could be denied on the ground that it was taken beyond six months from the date of issue of the invoice, and whether the first day of the period had to be excluded while computing six months.

Analysis: The provision barred taking credit after six months from the date of issue of the document. The Tribunal applied Section 9 of the General Clauses Act, 1897, under which, in computing a period of time, the first day is excluded and the last day included. On that basis, the invoice date was not to be counted while reckoning the six-month period, and the credit taken on the corresponding last day was within time.

Conclusion: The credit was not time-barred and the Revenue's challenge failed.

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