Modvat credit cannot be denied for minor invoice defects when duty-paid inputs are supported by valid depot documents.

Modvat credit was treated as allowable where inputs were received from the manufacturer's depot with original duty-paying documents and supporting cover papers showing the required particulars. The document noted that Notification No. 15/94 under Rule 57G recognised such documents for credit, and that the invoice need not necessarily be in the name of the ultimate buyer. Minor omissions in the invoices were regarded as curable defects, not a ground to deny credit. On that basis, credit could not be refused merely for the alleged invoice defect, and the departmental challenge failed.

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Issues: Whether Modvat credit could be denied on the ground that the inputs were received from the manufacturer's depot along with original duty-paying documents and the invoices contained only minor defects.

Analysis: The respondent received the inputs from the manufacturer's depot, and the documents accompanying the goods were treated under Notification No. 15/94 dated 30-3-94 issued under Rule 57G of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 as valid for availing credit. The findings of the original authority and the Commissioner (Appeals) were concurrent that the goods were supported by cover documents showing the required details, that the depot had attached the invoices and gate passes under which the goods had been received, and that any omission in the invoices was only a curable defect. The view was also taken that the rule did not require the invoice to be in the name of the ultimate buyer and that credit could not be denied for a minor defect in the invoices.

Conclusion: Modvat credit could not be denied on the basis of the alleged invoice defect, and the departmental challenge failed.

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