Cenvat credit on pre-transition duty-paid inputs was not time barred merely because it was taken later on a bill of entry.

Duty-paid inputs received before the Cenvat transition could support Modvat or Cenvat credit even if the credit entry was made later on a bill of entry, because the filing date of the bill of entry was not determinative of receipt of goods. The earlier time limit under Rule 57G(5) applied only to the pre-1-3-2000 regime, while substituted Rule 57AC(1) did not prescribe a time limit for availing credit. The transitional provision also permitted credit already earned before 1-4-2000 to be taken as Cenvat credit, and the Board's clarification supported that later availment did not by itself defeat the credit.

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Issues: Whether Modvat or Cenvat credit could be denied as time barred when the duty-paid input had been received before 1-4-2000, but credit was entered and taken later on the basis of a bill of entry.

Analysis: The input was not in dispute and the duty-paid nature of the goods was accepted. A bill of entry does not carry the same concept of date of issue as an invoice, and its filing date is not determinative of the physical receipt of the goods. The earlier time-limit under Rule 57G(5) governed the pre-1-3-2000 regime, but the substituted Rule 57AC(1) did not prescribe any time limit for availing credit. The transitional provision also permitted credit already earned before 1-4-2000 to be taken as Cenvat credit. The Board's clarification further supported the view that credit earned on receipt of inputs before 1-4-2000 could not be denied merely because it was taken later for some reason.

Conclusion: The denial of credit as time barred was unsustainable, and the credit was allowable to the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Where duty-paid inputs have been received and credit has been earned before the changeover to the Cenvat regime, credit cannot be denied merely because it was entered or availed later, if the governing substituted rule and transitional provision do not impose a time limit.

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