Duty credit under Rule 57G cannot be denied merely because the bill of entry was not endorsed in the claimant's name.

Credit of duty under Rule 57G of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 could not be denied merely because the bills of entry were not in the claimant's name or endorsed in its favour, where the claimant proved that the inputs were duty paid, received in the factory, and not already credited by the importer. The Court treated actual duty payment and receipt for use as inputs as the decisive requirements and held that, absent any statutory mandate for endorsement in the claimant's name, rejection on that ground alone was unjustified. Credit was therefore allowed in favour of the assessee and against the Revenue.

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Issues: Whether credit of duty under Rule 57G of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 could be denied merely because the bills of entry were not in the name of the appellant or endorsed in its favour, despite proof that the inputs were duty paid, received in the factory, and not subjected to prior credit by the importer.

Analysis: Rule 57G permits credit on inputs received under a bill of entry or other prescribed duty-paying document evidencing payment of duty. The decisive requirement is that the inputs were in fact duty paid and received for use in the factory. On the facts, the appellant produced the bills of entry and certificates from the excise authorities showing that the importer had not taken credit and that the goods were used as inputs by the appellant. The rule does not prescribe that the bill of entry must necessarily stand in the claimant's name or bear endorsement in its favour, and in the absence of any statutory requirement for such endorsement, credit could not be rejected on that ground alone.

Conclusion: The denial of credit was not justified, and the question was answered in favour of the appellant and against the Revenue.

Ratio Decidendi: Under Rule 57G of the Central Excise Rules, 1944, credit cannot be denied when the claimant establishes that the inputs were duty paid and received for use as inputs, merely because the bill of entry is not endorsed in the claimant's name, unless the rule itself requires such endorsement.

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