CENVAT refund cannot be denied merely because FIRCs bear an earlier name after a company name change.

Refund of accumulated CENVAT credit under Rule 5 of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 could not be denied merely because the FIRCs were issued in the assessee's former name after a change of name. The exports related to the relevant period, and the entity, foreign principal and bank account remained unchanged. In the absence of any statutory provision supporting rejection on this ground, the refund claim was held to be unsustainable in denial solely due to the name change. The issue was therefore decided in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether refund of accumulated CENVAT credit under Rule 5 of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 could be denied merely because the FIRCs were issued in the former name of the assessee after a change of name.

Analysis: The refund claim related to exports made during the relevant period and was rejected only on the ground that the FIRCs were not in the present name of the assessee. The name of the company had changed, but the entity, foreign principal, and bank account remained the same. No legal provision was shown to support denial of refund merely because of the change in name. A rejection on such a ground, without statutory support, could not be sustained.

Conclusion: The refund could not be denied solely on the basis that the FIRCs bore the earlier name of the assessee. The issue was decided in favour of the assessee.

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