Cenvat credit on moulds requires verification of job-worker status before denial and may warrant remand for fresh reconsideration.

Denial of Cenvat credit on moulds transferred to another manufacturer could not be sustained without first verifying whether the recipient qualified as a job worker under Rule 4(5)(b) of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004, as applicable before the 27.02.2010 amendment. The Tribunal treated the earlier interpretation of "job worker" as relevant because the prior provision was pari materia, but found that the lower authorities had not verified the factual basis of that claim. The matter was remanded to the adjudicating authority for fresh verification and reconsideration.

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Issues: Whether the denial of Cenvat credit on moulds removed to another manufacturer could be sustained without verifying whether the recipient was a job worker, and whether the matter required remand for reconsideration.

Analysis: The dispute turned on the application of Rule 4(5)(b) of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004, in the light of the period involved before the amendment of 27.02.2010. The plea that the recipient was a job worker was raised before the Tribunal and relied on documentary arrangements said to exist between the parties. The earlier authority cited on the meaning of job worker was treated as relevant because the corresponding earlier provision was pari materia, but the factual question whether the recipient answered that description had not been verified by the lower authorities.

Conclusion: The issue was not finally decided on merits and the matter was remanded to the adjudicating authority for fresh verification and reconsideration.

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