Modvat credit cannot be denied for curable invoice defects when duty-paid inputs are received, used, and later properly documented.

Modvat credit was treated as unavailable only where essential conditions were not met, not where invoices initially lacked particulars that were later rectified. The inputs were duty-paid, received by the assessee, and used in the manufacture of the declared final product, so the missing invoice details were viewed as remediable procedural defects. Once the invoices were corrected and properly attested, the substantive entitlement to credit remained intact, and denial of credit solely for the initial documentary lapse was not justified.

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Issues: Whether Modvat credit could be denied merely because the invoices did not initially contain all particulars required under the notification and rules, when the inputs were received and used in the manufacture of final products and the defects were later rectified.

Analysis: The dispute turned on compliance with the prescribed invoice particulars under the Modvat scheme. The record showed that the inputs were duty-paid, received by the assessee, and used in or in relation to the manufacture of the declared final product. The omissions in the invoices were found to be remediable, and the defects were subsequently cured by rectified invoices with proper attestation. In these circumstances, the denial of credit was treated as resting on a procedural lapse rather than any absence of substantive entitlement.

Conclusion: Modvat credit could not be denied solely on account of the initial documentary defects, since the essential conditions of receipt and use of inputs were satisfied and the defects were rectified. The issue is decided in favour of the assessee.

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