Modvat credit on consignment agent invoices and reference applications rejected where the issue was already settled.

Invoices issued by consignment agents were treated as proper Modvatable invoices for availing credit, and the Tribunal noted that this issue had already been consistently settled in earlier cases. The Revenue's reference applications seeking a reference to the High Court were held not maintainable because no surviving question of law was shown and the mere filing of a reference in another High Court did not justify allowing the applications. The Tribunal therefore declined to send the matter for reference and rejected the Revenue's request.

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Issues: Whether the Revenue's reference applications seeking reference to the High Court were maintainable and whether any question of law survived on the eligibility of credit on invoices issued by consignment agents.

Analysis: The Tribunal noted that the earlier decision relied upon had already held invoices issued by consignment agents to be proper Modvatable invoices for availing credit. It was also found that the department's reference in the earlier matter had been rejected, and no material was shown to establish that the mere filing of a reference in another High Court justified allowing the present applications. The Tribunal further observed that the point had been consistently decided in a number of cases and had become well settled.

Conclusion: The Revenue's reference applications were not maintainable on the facts shown and were rejected.

Final Conclusion: The Tribunal declined to send the matter for reference, holding that no merit survived in the Revenue's request and that the issue stood settled against the Revenue.

Ratio Decidendi: A reference application will not be allowed merely because a similar matter has been taken to a High Court; where the legal issue is already settled and no contrary basis is shown, the application is liable to be rejected.

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