Unretracted admission by an authorised officer can establish replacement receipt and sustain denial of input credit without further proof.

Denial of Cenvat/input credit on aluminium collapsible tubes was sustained because an unretracted statement recorded under Section 14 of the Central Excise Act, 1944 was treated as a reliable admission. The quality control officer of the assessee stated that fresh manufactured tubes were received as replacement for rejected tubes, and that admitted fact required no further proof. The absence of corroborative evidence did not dilute the effect of the admission, applying the principle that what is admitted need not be proved.

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Issues: Whether the denial of Cenvat/input credit on aluminium collapsible tubes was justified on the basis of the unretracted statement of the appellant's quality control officer confirming receipt of fresh replacement tubes.

Analysis: The statement recorded under Section 14 of the Central Excise Act, 1944 was treated as relevant and reliable because it was an admission by the appellant's quality control officer that fresh manufactured tubes were received as replacement for rejected tubes. As the statement was not retracted, the admitted fact required no further proof. The absence of corroborative evidence did not displace the effect of the admission, and the principle that what is admitted need not be proved was applied.

Conclusion: The credit denial was upheld and the challenge failed.

Ratio Decidendi: An unretracted admission made by an authorised officer of a party can, by itself, be sufficient to establish the disputed fact and obviate the need for further proof.

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