Appeal allowed due to lack of statutory provision for pre-printing serial numbers on invoices

The appeal was allowed as the judge found that there was no statutory provision mandating pre-printing of serial numbers on invoices for claiming Cenvat Credit. The court emphasized that the reliance on non-statutory provisions from the Central Excise Manual was unjustified, as these instructions did not carry the force of law. Therefore, the denial of credit to the appellant based on hand-written serial numbers was deemed improper.

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Issues: Denial of Cenvat Credit based on hand-written serial numbers on invoices.

Analysis:
The appeal was filed against the denial of Cenvat Credit to the appellant, M/s.A.A. Trailers, based on hand-written serial numbers on invoices. The appellant's counsel argued that there is no legal requirement for the serial number to be pre-printed, and the impugned order did not cite any statutory provision supporting the denial of credit. The impugned order relied on para 3.2 of Chapter 4 of the CBEC Manual of supplementary instructions, which was deemed non-statutory. The Assistant Commissioner (AR) relied on the impugned order during the proceedings.

Upon reviewing the submissions, the judge noted that neither the original orders nor the impugned order referenced any statutory provision mandating pre-printing of serial numbers. The judge highlighted para 3.2 of the Central Excise Manual, which stated that while serial numbers could be printed at the time of printing or by using a franking machine, hand-written serial numbers were not acceptable. However, it was clarified that the Central Excise Manual and its relevant chapter were merely departmental instructions and did not hold the force of law. Consequently, the judge allowed the appeal, emphasizing that in the absence of a statutory provision, the denial of credit based on hand-written serial numbers was unjustified.

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