Modvat credit allowed on endorsed Bill of Entry where imported goods were received and duty-paid character was established.

Modvat credit was held admissible where imported goods were actually received by the assessee and the Bill of Entry covering the consignment had been endorsed in its favour. The endorsed Bill of Entry was treated as a valid duty-paying document, and the procedural objection that a separate requirement under Rule 57G had not been independently satisfied was not accepted because it did not affect substantive entitlement. Once receipt of the goods and their duty-paid character were established, credit could not be denied on a purely procedural ground.

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Issues: Whether Modvat credit could be taken on the strength of an endorsed bill of entry where the imported goods were actually received by the assessee.

Analysis: The Bill of Entry covering the entire imported consignment had been endorsed in favour of the assessee, and there was no dispute regarding receipt of the goods in its premises. The Tribunal treated the bill of entry as a duty-paying document and followed its earlier view that credit cannot be denied merely because a procedural requirement, not going to the substance of entitlement, was not separately satisfied. The requirement under Rule 57G stood met once the goods were received with the endorsed bill of entry and the duty-paid nature of the goods was established.

Conclusion: Modvat credit on the endorsed bill of entry was admissible to the assessee.

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