Cenvat credit for job-work inputs depends on proof of dispatch and return, not solely on one challan copy.

Cenvat credit on job-work inputs could not be denied solely because the green copy of the challan was unavailable; the decisive inquiry was whether the goods were sent for job work and returned within the period prescribed under Rule 4(5)(a) of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004. Other records such as job work registers and related documents could support the transaction, but they had not been properly verified, and the appellant had not produced all supporting material before the Tribunal. The matter was therefore remanded to the original authority for fresh examination of all relevant documents and a personal hearing.

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Issues: Whether the matter warranted remand for fresh verification of whether the inputs sent for job work were duly returned and whether Cenvat credit could be denied merely because the green copy of the challan was not available.

Analysis: The availability of the prescribed second copy of the challan was not treated as the sole determinative test of movement and return of job-work goods. The relevant inquiry was whether the goods on which credit had been taken were sent for job work and returned within the stipulated time under Rule 4(5)(a) of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004. The record showed that other evidentiary material, including job work registers and allied documents, could be relevant to establish the transaction, but those materials had not been properly verified by the authorities below. The appellant also had not produced all supporting documents relied upon before the Tribunal. In these circumstances, a fresh examination of the entire matter was necessary.

Conclusion: The matter was remanded to the original adjudicating authority for reconsideration after examining all relevant documents and granting personal hearing, and the appeal was allowed by way of remand.

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