Prospective application of Cenvat credit time-limit notification preserves credit on pre-notification invoices and defeats denial of credit.

A time-limit notification governing Cenvat credit applies prospectively from its effective date and cannot be used to disallow credit on invoices issued before that date. Credit taken on supplementary invoices issued before 11.07.2014 remained admissible because the six-month restriction introduced by Notification No. 21/2014-C.E. (N.T.) was not in force when those invoices were issued. The denial of credit was therefore unsustainable, and the assessee was entitled to the credit claimed.

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Issues: Whether the six-month time limit for availment of Cenvat credit introduced by Notification No. 21/2014-C.E. (N.T.) dated 11.07.2014 applies to invoices issued prior to that date, and whether credit taken on such pre-notification invoices is admissible.

Analysis: The credit was taken on supplementary invoices issued in March and April 2013, while the restriction under Notification No. 21/2014-C.E. (N.T.) came into force on 11.07.2014. The governing principle applied was that the notification operates prospectively and cannot be invoked to deny credit on invoices issued before its commencement, when no such time limit existed at the time of issue. The later notification extending the period for credit further supported the view that the restriction was not meant to govern prior invoices.

Conclusion: The six-month limit does not apply to invoices issued before 11.07.2014, and the credit taken on the pre-notification invoices was admissible.

Final Conclusion: The denial of Cenvat credit was unsustainable, and the assessee was entitled to the credit claimed.

Ratio Decidendi: A time-limit notification governing availment of Cenvat credit applies prospectively from its effective date and cannot be used to disallow credit on invoices issued prior to that date.

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