Modvat credit limitation for bills of entry runs from customs clearance, not from payment of additional duty.

For Modvat credit under the proviso to Rule 57G, the six-month period for a bill of entry is computed from the notional date when the imported goods are passed out of customs charge, not from the date of payment of additional duty. Because a bill of entry has no actual "date of issue" comparable to an excise invoice, the relevant date is linked to the point when the importer obtains the goods after customs clearance. On that basis, the credit was taken within time and was admissible, so the disallowance was set aside.

---

---

Issues: Whether, for the purpose of the six-month limitation under the proviso to Rule 57G, the "date of issue" of a bill of entry is to be reckoned from the date of payment of additional duty or from the date on which the imported goods are passed out of customs charge, so as to determine the availability of Modvat credit.

Analysis: The relevant rule contemplated a "date of issue" for specified duty-paying documents. Unlike an excise invoice, a bill of entry has no actual date of issue in the same sense. In import clearance for home consumption, the importer can obtain the goods only after customs assessment and the order for clearance, and the interval between payment of duty and physical clearance may vary. Since the importer has no control over the internal assessment process, the date of issue of the bill of entry was treated as a notional date, reasonably linked to the point when the goods come into the importer's hands, namely when they are passed out of customs charge.

Conclusion: The credit was taken within six months from the relevant date and was therefore admissible.

Final Conclusion: The disallowance of Modvat credit was set aside and the assessee was granted consequential relief.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a duty-paying document such as a bill of entry has no actual "date of issue" comparable to an excise invoice, the limitation period under Rule 57G must be computed from the notional date on which the imported goods are cleared out of customs charge and become available to the importer.

---