Modvat credit requires verified duty-paying documents; conditional appellate orders cannot replace a clear final determination.

A conditional and inconclusive appellate order was set aside because it did not finally dispose of the dispute and instead made rejection depend on further verification by the Assistant Collector. The Tribunal noted that a carbon copy of a delivery challan-cum-invoice could not automatically be treated as the prescribed duty-paying document for Modvat credit without clear factual verification of the supplier's issuance practice and safeguards against multiple credit claims. The matter was remanded for a clear and categorical determination on the admissibility of the document and the factual risk of duplication.

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Issues: Whether a carbon copy of the delivery challan cum invoice could be treated as a valid duty paying document for availing Modvat credit, and whether the appellate order, being conditional and inconclusive, could stand.

Analysis: The order of the lower appellate authority was held to be self-contradictory because it first appeared to accept the assessee's case, but then made the rejection of the departmental appeal dependent on further verification by the Assistant Collector. Such an order did not finally decide the controversy and effectively sent the matter back for verification instead of disposing of the appeal. The Tribunal further observed that, in principle, the carbon copy could not automatically be equated with the document prescribed in the trade notice, and that the actual practice of the supplier and the risk of duplication of credit required clear factual ascertainment. The matter therefore called for a definite finding on how many copies of the challan were issued and whether safeguards existed against multiple claims.

Conclusion: The appellate order was set aside and the matter was remanded for a clear and categorical decision according to law.

Final Conclusion: The departmental challenge succeeded, and the controversy over admissibility of the carbon copy for Modvat credit was left open for fresh determination by the lower appellate authority.

Ratio Decidendi: An appellate order that is conditional, inconclusive, and dependent on further factual verification does not amount to a final disposal and may be set aside for a clear adjudication; a prescribed duty-paying document cannot be treated as valid for Modvat credit without definite factual verification of the supplier's issuance practice.

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