Modvat credit time bar under amended Rule 57G(2) prevents credit on duty documents older than six months.

The amended proviso to Rule 57G(2) barred Modvat credit where duty-paying documents were more than six months old when credit was taken. Credit claimed in February 1996 on documents issued earlier than the six-month limit was therefore inadmissible, and the plea against retrospective operation did not alter that result. The legal effect is that the six-month restriction under the amended rule operates as a time bar on availment of Modvat credit based on stale documents.

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Issues: Whether Modvat credit could be taken in February 1996 on the basis of duty-paying documents issued more than six months earlier under Rule 57G(2) as amended by Notification No. 28/95-C.E. (N.T.), dated 29-6-1995.

Analysis: The amended proviso to Rule 57G(2) barred availment of credit after six months from the date of issue of the relevant duty-paying documents. Since the credit was taken in February 1996, well after six months from the dates of the documents, the restriction applied and the plea against retrospective operation did not assist the appellant.

Conclusion: The Modvat credit was not admissible and the disallowance was upheld in favour of the Revenue.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the governing Modvat rule prescribes a six-month limit from the date of issue of duty-paying documents, credit taken beyond that period is barred.

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