Modvat credit cannot be denied for technical invoice defects when duty payment and transaction authenticity remain undisputed.

Modvat credit could not be denied merely because invoices omitted particulars such as the Central Excise registration number, ECC number, Range, Division and Collectorate address, where duty payment on the goods was not disputed and verification did not disprove the dealer's registration or the transaction's authenticity. The missing details were treated as procedural defects that did not affect the substantive eligibility to credit or the duty-paying character of the invoices. On that basis, the denial of credit was held unsustainable and the penalty could not survive.

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Issues: Whether Modvat credit could be denied and penalty sustained merely because the invoices did not contain certain particulars such as the Central Excise registration number, ECC number, Range, Division and Collectorate address, when duty payment on the goods was not in dispute and verification did not disprove the dealer's registration or the authenticity of the transaction.

Analysis: The invoices were objected to for want of prescribed particulars, but the record showed that verification was still attempted through the jurisdictional Range Officer. The report did not negate the dealer's registration; it only indicated inability to confirm duty payment because returns for the relevant month were not filed. The missing particulars did not bear on the factum of duty payment for the goods covered by the invoices or on the substantive eligibility to credit. Since the duty element reflected in the invoices was not disputed, the procedural omission in the invoices was held insufficient to reject the credit claim.

Conclusion: The denial of Modvat credit was unsustainable and the penalty could not survive. The issue was decided in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The assessee was entitled to Modvat credit, and the adverse order was set aside.

Ratio Decidendi: Modvat credit cannot be denied on purely technical defects in invoices when duty payment on the goods is not disputed and the omitted particulars do not affect the authenticity of the duty-paying document.

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