Retrospective CENVAT Credit amendment applies to pending proceedings, requiring reconsideration of relief under the amended rules.

A retrospective amendment to the CENVAT Credit Rules was held applicable to pending proceedings because the appeal remained part of the original adjudicatory process. On that basis, the existing order could not stand once the amended fiscal provision was available for consideration, and the matter required fresh examination under the amended rules. The text also notes that the departmental representative conceded the appellant's eligibility to claim the benefit of the amendment. The impugned order was therefore set aside and the case remanded for reconsideration in light of the retrospective change.

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Issues: Whether the amended provisions of the CENVAT Credit Rules, brought in by the Finance Act, 2010 with retrospective effect, were applicable to the pending proceedings and entitled the appellant to relief, warranting setting aside of the impugned order and remand.

Analysis: The amendment was treated as retrospective, and the departmental representative conceded the appellant's eligibility to claim its benefit. In view of that position, the impugned order could not be sustained. The pending appeal was also treated as a continuation of the original proceedings, so the amended provision could apply even though the matter was still pending before the appellate authority.

Conclusion: The amended provisions were applicable to the pending case, and the impugned order was set aside with remand to the Commissioner for reconsideration in light of the amended CENVAT Credit Rules.

Ratio Decidendi: A retrospective fiscal amendment applies to pending proceedings that remain part of the original adjudicatory process, and relief must be reconsidered on that basis.

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