Modvat credit denied where a twice-endorsed substitute document exceeded the limited endorsement relaxation for admissibility.

Modvat credit was confined to the specific document notified by the Board, namely a gate pass endorsed once, because the relaxation was limited to a single endorsement to preserve verification of duty-paid nature and movement of goods. A substitute invoice-cum-challan could not acquire wider validity than the notified gate pass, so a twice-endorsed document was not admissible for credit. The assessee's claim therefore failed.

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Issues: Whether Modvat credit was admissible on an invoice-cum-challan of Steel Authority of India Ltd. that had been endorsed twice, when the notified document was only a gate pass endorsed once.

Analysis: The document accepted for Modvat purposes at the relevant time was the gate pass endorsed once only, and the Board had not notified a gate pass or substitute document endorsed twice as an admissible document. The relaxation granted by the Board was limited to a single endorsement because verification of duty-paid nature and movement of goods would otherwise become impracticable. A document substituted in place of the gate pass could not acquire a wider validity than the notified gate pass itself.

Conclusion: Modvat credit on the twice-endorsed invoice-cum-challan was not admissible, and the assessee's appeal failed.

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