Appellant wins cenvat credit dispute, penalty lifted. Verify invoice dates.

The Tribunal ruled in favor of the appellant, holding that they were entitled to the cenvat credit as all invoices for which credit was claimed were issued before 01.09.2014. The denial of credit was overturned, and the imposed penalty was lifted. The Original Adjudicating Authority was instructed to verify the invoice issuance dates, with the appellant's assistance if needed.

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Issues Involved:
1. Denial of cenvat credit by revenue for availing credit after 6 months from the date of issue of cenvatable invoices.
2. Applicability of amendment notification 21/2014-CE(N.T.) on invoices issued before 01.09.2014.

Detailed Analysis:
Issue 1:
The main issue in this case is whether the revenue was correct in denying the cenvat credit based on availing the credit after 6 months from the date of issue of cenvatable invoices. The appellant argued that even though the credit was taken after the amendment notification 21/2014-CE (N.T.), all the invoices were issued before 01.09.2014, making the amended provision inapplicable. The appellant cited various judgments in support of this argument, including M/S VOSS EXOTECH AUTOMOTIVE PVT LTD Vs. COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL EXCISE and GLOBAL CERAMICS PVT. LTD. v/S. PRINCIPAL COMMISSIONER OF C.EX., among others.

Issue 2:
The second issue revolves around the applicability of amendment notification 21/2014-CE(N.T.) on invoices issued before 01.09.2014. The Tribunal considered whether the limitation of 6 months provided in the notification applied to invoices issued prior to the notification coming into effect. The Tribunal referred to the Division Bench decision in the case of BHARAT ALUMINIUM COMPANY LTD. V/S. JOINT COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL EXCISE, which held that the 6-month limitation was not applicable to invoices issued before 01.09.2014. The Tribunal also cited judgments from various other cases to support this interpretation, such as Indian Potash Ltd. vs Commissioner of Central GST and Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd. vs. Commissioner of Central Tax, among others.

Conclusion:
Based on the analysis of the issues involved and the relevant legal precedents, the Tribunal found in favor of the appellant. The Tribunal held that the appellant was entitled to the cenvat credit since all the invoices on which the credit was claimed were issued prior to 01.09.2014. The impugned order denying the credit was set aside, and the personal penalty imposed was also lifted. The Tribunal directed the Original Adjudicating Authority to verify the fact that the invoices were indeed issued before 01.09.2014, providing the appellant with an opportunity to assist in the verification process.

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