CENVAT credit admissibility upheld where goods receipt was undisputed and original Bills of Entry were unavailable.

CENVAT credit was treated as admissible where the imported goods were received and used in manufacture without dispute, even though the credit was taken beyond six months from the Bills of Entry and on photocopies rather than originals. The Tribunal noted that Rule 57G(5) was invoked to allege time-bar, but an earlier precedent had allowed credit when loss of the original Bill of Entry was intimated in time and a certificate was sought, and the Revenue showed no overruling or stay of that precedent. The credit was therefore sustained and the Revenue's challenge failed.

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Issues: Whether CENVAT credit could be denied on the ground that it was taken beyond six months from the date of the Bills of Entry and on photocopies of the Bills of Entry, where receipt and use of the imported goods in manufacture were not in dispute.

Analysis: Rule 57G(5) of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 was relied upon by the Revenue to contend that credit was time-barred. The credit, however, had been allowed by the first appellate authority by following an earlier Tribunal decision, which held that where loss of the original Bill of Entry is intimated and an application for a certificate is made within time, credit cannot be denied merely because the Customs authorities do not act on the request, so long as receipt of the goods is not in doubt. The Tribunal also noted that the Revenue did not show that the precedent had been overruled or stayed by a higher forum.

Conclusion: The credit was held admissible and the Revenue's challenge failed.

Final Conclusion: The impugned order allowing CENVAT credit was sustained and the appeal was dismissed.

Ratio Decidendi: CENVAT credit cannot be denied solely for delay in availing credit or for absence of the original document where receipt and use of the goods are undisputed and the applicable precedent supports the claim.

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