Modvat credit documentation loss can be cured through comparable verification procedure, with remand for fresh scrutiny and hearing.

When prescribed Modvat credit documents are lost, a procedural verification mechanism framed for a comparable invoice category may be applied mutatis mutandis. The loss of the original and duplicate invoices issued under Rule 100E did not automatically defeat the credit claim, particularly where a customs-attested triplicate copy was produced. The claim required verification from the supplier's factory under customs control, and the credit could be decided only after proper scrutiny and hearing. The impugned orders were set aside and the matter was remanded for reconsideration of the Modvat credit claim after due verification.

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Issues: Whether Modvat credit could be denied for want of original and duplicate invoices issued under Rule 100E of the Central Excise Rules, 1944, and whether the procedure under Rule 57G(6) could be applied to such loss for verification of the credit claim.

Analysis: The denial of credit was based on loss of the original and duplicate invoices and the absence of prompt intimation to the department. The procedural safeguard in Rule 57G(6) was framed with reference to loss of duplicate invoices under Rule 52A, but invoices issued under Rule 100E were also prescribed documents for credit purposes under Rule 57G(3)(a). In a situation where similar loss of Rule 100E invoices occurs, the prescribed procedure could be followed mutatis mutandis. Since a customs attested copy of the triplicate invoice had been produced, the claim required verification from the supplier's factory under customs control before granting credit.

Conclusion: The denial of Modvat credit was not finally upheld; the matter was remanded for verification and fresh decision on the credit claim.

Final Conclusion: The impugned orders were set aside and the claim for Modvat credit was left for reconsideration after due verification and hearing.

Ratio Decidendi: Where prescribed credit documents are lost, a procedural rule framed for a comparable class of invoices may be applied mutatis mutandis, and the credit claim should be decided only after proper verification and observance of hearing.

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