Accrued credit under an excise scheme survived rescission, but no further credit could be earned after withdrawal.

Accrued credit earned under a money credit scheme could not be extinguished by later rescission of the notification, because the underlying rules continued to protect utilisation of credit validly earned during the scheme's currency. The High Court held that such credit was a vested right once earned and remained available for use even after withdrawal of the scheme. However, the rescinding notification could operate prospectively, so no further credit could accrue after the scheme was withdrawn. The petitioner was therefore entitled to utilise credit earned before the cut-off date, but not to claim continuation of the scheme for future accrual.

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Issues: Whether rescission of the money credit notification could extinguish credit already earned under the earlier scheme and whether the petitioner was entitled to utilise such accrued credit after the rescission.

Analysis: The credit scheme was introduced under the Central Excise Rules and the relevant notifications operated while the scheme remained in force. The rescinding notification withdrew the scheme prospectively, but did not repeal the underlying rules that protected utilisation of credit already earned. The Court held that accrued credit constituted a right earned during the currency of the scheme and could not be taken away merely because the notification was later rescinded. At the same time, the Court found that the rescission could operate prospectively so that no further credit could be earned after the withdrawal of the scheme.

Conclusion: The petitioner was entitled to utilise the credit validly earned before 25-8-1989, but the challenge to the rescinding notification itself was not accepted to the extent it sought to prevent prospective withdrawal of the scheme.

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