Modvat credit for packaging items supplied with final goods upheld where prior precedent supported input eligibility.

Bowls and spoons supplied in a single pack with the final product were treated as eligible inputs for Modvat credit under Rule 57A of the Central Excise Rules, 1944. The Tribunal relied on an earlier decision involving the same product, where such accompanying items had already been recognised as credit-eligible inputs, and the Revenue did not show that that precedent was inapplicable or unsettled. On that basis, the items remained eligible for duty credit and the Revenue's appeal was dismissed.

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Issues: Whether bowls and spoons supplied in the single pack with the final product were eligible inputs for Modvat credit under Rule 57A of the Central Excise Rules, 1944.

Analysis: The eligibility of the bowls and spoons had already been decided in an earlier Tribunal decision involving the same product, where such items supplied along with the final product were held to be eligible inputs for duty credit. The Revenue did not show that the earlier decision was irrelevant or unsettled.

Conclusion: The items were held to be eligible inputs for Modvat credit, and the Revenue's appeal was dismissed.

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