Cenvat credit cannot be denied for missing original invoices when service receipt and use are otherwise established.

Cenvat credit cannot be denied solely because original duty-paying documents were not produced when receipt and use of the input services are otherwise established. The record showed that the services were received and used for providing output services, and Revenue produced no evidence to discredit the claim or show that the services were not actually received. Where verification is possible through other reliable material, absence of original invoices by itself is insufficient to reject credit. On that basis, the denial of Cenvat credit was held unsustainable, the credit was allowed, and the related penalty under Section 78 was set aside.

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Issues: Whether Cenvat credit could be denied merely because the original duty-paying documents were not produced, when the receipt and use of the input services were otherwise not in dispute.

Analysis: The only substantial controversy was the nonproduction of original invoices/documents. The record showed that the input services were received and used for providing output services, and there was no evidence from Revenue to show that the services were not actually received. The absence of original documents, by itself, was held insufficient to deny credit where verification was possible through other material and the genuineness of the claim was not otherwise discredited.

Conclusion: The denial of Cenvat credit was unsustainable. The credit was allowed and the penalty under Section 78 was set aside.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded and the assessee obtained full relief on the credit dispute, with the connected penalty also removed.

Ratio Decidendi: Mere nonproduction of original invoices cannot justify denial of Cenvat credit where the receipt and use of services are otherwise established and the claim can be verified by other reliable material.

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