Binding Tribunal precedent governed Modvat credit eligibility for measuring instruments, leading to acceptance of the assessee's claim.

Measuring instruments were treated as eligible for Modvat credit as inputs under Rule 57A after the claim under Rule 57Q as capital goods had been rejected. The Tribunal followed an earlier Third Member decision on the same point, treating that precedent as binding and declining to take a different view on credit eligibility. On that basis, the assessee's claim was accepted and the departmental appeals were rejected.

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Issues: Whether measuring instruments were eligible for Modvat credit as inputs under Rule 57A of the Central Excise Rules, 1944, when the claim under Rule 57Q as capital goods had been rejected.

Analysis: The question was held to be covered by an earlier Tribunal decision dealing with measuring instruments. That decision, reached after a reference to a Third Member, accepted the assessee's contention and was treated as binding. Following that precedent, the Tribunal declined to take a different view on the eligibility of the goods for credit under the Modvat scheme.

Conclusion: The claim that the measuring instruments could be treated as inputs eligible for Modvat credit was accepted, and the department's appeals were rejected.

Final Conclusion: The assessee succeeded on the credit eligibility issue, and the departmental challenge failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the point is squarely covered by a binding Tribunal decision, the same view must be followed in determining Modvat credit eligibility under the relevant rules.

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