Modvat eligibility for furnace refractory bricks upheld despite missing Rule 57G declaration in special facts.

Refractory bricks and binding accessories used in an electric arc furnace were treated as parts of machinery or furnace installation, so they were not excluded from Modvat eligibility under Rule 57A. The assessee's omission to file a declaration under Rule 57G(1) did not defeat the claim in the special facts, because relevant particulars had already been furnished under Rule 57T for capital goods treatment and contemporaneous Tribunal decisions made Rule 57A relief impracticable to claim earlier. Rule 57Q was left undecided. Modvat credit was therefore admissible and the demand confirmations could not be sustained.

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Issues: Whether refractory bricks and binding accessories used in an electric arc furnace were admissible as Modvat inputs under Rule 57A, and whether the absence of a declaration under Rule 57G(1) defeated the claim when the assessee had filed a declaration under Rule 57T for capital goods treatment.

Analysis: Refractory bricks were treated as parts of machinery or furnace installation rather than as mere maintenance items, and the settled position that parts of machinery are not excluded from Modvat eligibility under Rule 57A was applied. The Court further held that the assessee's failure to file a declaration under Rule 57G(1) did not bar relief in the peculiar facts, because the assessee had earlier furnished the relevant particulars under Rule 57T and could not realistically have claimed Rule 57A benefit at the material time in view of the then-prevailing Tribunal decisions. The applicability of Rule 57Q was therefore found unnecessary to decide.

Conclusion: The Modvat benefit was admissible to the assessee, and the demand confirmations could not be sustained.

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