Cenvat credit on structural steel items denied where materials were used only for foundations and support structures.

Iron and steel items such as angles, channels, joists, bars, plates, sheets and coils used for foundation work and structural support do not qualify as capital goods merely because they are used in construction or support structures. The applicable definition requires the goods to be machinery, or components or parts of plant and machinery, and structural steel used for laying foundations or supporting structures falls outside that scope. Following the Larger Bench view on structural steel items, Cenvat credit was held inadmissible on the disputed materials and the Revenue's appeal succeeded.

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Issues: Whether Cenvat credit was admissible on iron and steel items such as angles, channels, joists, bars, plates, sheets and coils claimed as capital goods.

Analysis: The disputed items were used for laying foundation and providing structural support. Under the definition of capital goods, items which are neither machinery nor components or parts of plant and machinery do not qualify merely because they are used in construction or support structures. The Larger Bench decision on structural steel items was followed to hold that such materials used for foundation and supporting structures are outside the scope of eligible capital goods and no Cenvat credit is admissible on them.

Conclusion: Cenvat credit on the disputed iron and steel items was not admissible and the Revenue's appeal succeeded.

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