Accrued deemed credit survives scheme withdrawal and remains usable after the notification's effective date.

Deemed credit validly earned under the earlier notification was treated as an accrued entitlement that could not be retrospectively taken away merely because the scheme was withdrawn from 1-4-2003. The Court applied the principle that a vested or accrued right under a statutory scheme survives withdrawal unless the later instrument expressly or by necessary implication extinguishes it. On that basis, credit earned before withdrawal did not lapse and remained available for utilisation after the withdrawal date; no substantial question of law arose.

---

---

Issues: Whether deemed credit earned under the relevant notification before its withdrawal lapsed on withdrawal, and whether such credit could still be utilised after 1-4-2003.

Analysis: The dispute turned on whether credit validly earned under the earlier deemed credit scheme could be taken away merely because the notification withdrawing the scheme came into force from 1-4-2003. The Court applied the settled principle that a right accrued under a statutory scheme cannot be retrospectively defeated unless the statute or notification expressly or by necessary implication so provides. It relied on the earlier legal position that credit legitimately earned forms part of the assessee's accrued entitlement, and withdrawal of the scheme does not, by itself, cause such credit to lapse or become unavailable for utilisation.

Conclusion: Deemed credit earned before withdrawal did not lapse, and its utilisation after withdrawal was permissible; no substantial question of law arose.

---