MODVAT/CENVAT refund documentation can be proved by statutory stock records when original duty-paid papers are unavailable.

Refund of unutilised MODVAT/CENVAT credit on closure of a unit could not be denied merely because original duty-paid documents were unavailable, where statutory stock registers and other records were maintained and could verify the credit position. The Tribunal treated the issue as one of practical proof of valid availment of credit, not a substantive dispute over eligibility, and held that technical or procedural deficiencies should not defeat an otherwise admissible refund. On that basis, the stock register and statutory records were accepted as sufficient evidence, and the refund claim was to be processed accordingly.

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Issues: Whether, for refund of unutilised MODVAT/CENVAT credit on closure of the unit, production of stock register entries and statutory records is sufficient proof of eligibility to avail credit, or whether original duty-paid documents are mandatory.

Analysis: The claim for refund of unutilised credit under Rule 5 was not in dispute; the controversy was confined to the nature of proof required to establish that credit had been validly availed. The Tribunal noted that the refund claim could not be rejected merely because original documents were unavailable where statutory records such as stock registers were maintained and could establish the relevant credit position. Relying on earlier decisions recognising that technical or procedural deficiencies should not defeat otherwise admissible refunds, the Tribunal held that the documentary requirement had to be assessed in a practical manner and that the statutory stock records were adequate for verification in the circumstances.

Conclusion: The stock register and statutory records were held sufficient to prove eligibility to avail credit, and the refund claim was directed to be processed accordingly.

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