CENVAT credit on certified Bill of Entry copies sustained where originals were lost but import and duty payment were verified.

CENVAT credit cannot be denied solely for non-production of the original Bill of Entry where import, receipt of goods, and duty payment are otherwise established. Certified copies, a police loss certificate, and a Customs certificate verifying the import and duty-paid particulars were treated as sufficient proof in the absence of the originals. The proviso to Rule 9(2) of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 supports verification of incomplete documents, and the cited authorities on photocopies and secondary evidence were distinguished as inapplicable to this credit claim.

---

---

Issues: Whether CENVAT credit could be denied for want of original Bills of Entry when the originals were lost, but the assessee produced police loss certificate, certified copies, and customs certificate evidencing import and duty payment.

Analysis: Credit under Rule 9 of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 is linked to prescribed duty paying documents, and the proviso to sub-rule (2) permits verification where particulars are incomplete. On the facts, the import, receipt of goods, and duty payment were not in dispute. The loss of the original Bills of Entry was supported by a police certificate, and the Customs authorities had issued a certificate confirming the particulars of import and duty paid. The denial was therefore based only on the absence of the original document, not on any doubt about the transaction itself. The cited decisions on mere photocopies and civil court secondary evidence were distinguished as not governing a quasi-judicial credit claim of this nature. The jurisdictional High Court authority recognising a certified copy of the Bill of Entry as a valid basis for credit was applied.

Conclusion: CENVAT credit could not be denied merely because the original Bills of Entry were not produced, and the assessee was entitled to the credit.

Ratio Decidendi: Where import, receipt of goods, and duty payment are otherwise established, CENVAT credit cannot be refused solely for non-production of the original Bill of Entry if certified copies and official certificates sufficiently verify the duty paying particulars.

---