Cenvat credit on defective documents requires verification before denial, with remand ordered for fresh scrutiny of records.

Entitlement to Cenvat credit depended on verification of supporting records, including attested Bill of Entry copies, invoices addressed to the warehouse, and xerox invoices. The text states that alleged defects in documents were treated as potentially procedural where receipt and consumption of inputs and capital goods were claimed, and that the adjudicating authority had power to verify originals before deciding admissibility. The impugned denial was set aside and the matter remanded for fresh scrutiny of all documents, leaving substantive credit entitlement open after verification.

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Issues: Whether the denial of Cenvat credit on the ground of defective or unverified documents, including attested copies of Bill of Entry, invoices addressed to the warehouse, and xerox copies of invoices, was sustainable, and whether the matter required remand for verification of the documents.

Analysis: The credit dispute turned on whether the supporting documents were sufficient to establish receipt and use of inputs and capital goods, and whether the alleged defects were merely procedural. The appellant asserted that the Bill of Entry was attested by the Customs officer, that the goods were received and consumed in the factory, and that some original documents could be produced for verification. The order also noted reliance on the principle that minor procedural lapses should not defeat a substantive credit claim where the goods are received and accounted for, and on the availability of authority to verify documents before deciding admissibility.

Conclusion: The matter required remand to the original authority for verification of all documents, and the denial of credit was not finally sustained.

Final Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside and the claim for Cenvat credit was sent back for fresh verification, leaving the substantive entitlement open to be decided after document scrutiny.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the entitlement to Cenvat credit depends on documentary verification and the assessee asserts possession of valid supporting records, the adjudicating authority must verify the documents and should not finally deny credit merely on the basis of remediable procedural defects.

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