Modvat credit cannot be denied for missing pre-printed invoice serial numbers where duty payment and goods receipt are undisputed.

Modvat credit could not be denied solely because invoices lacked pre-printed serial numbers, where receipt of goods and payment of duty were undisputed. The Tribunal treated the invoice-format objection as a procedural irregularity that did not defeat substantive entitlement to credit under the Central Excise Rules. It relied on earlier Tribunal decisions adopting the same approach and rejected the departmental contention that non-compliance with the invoice numbering format, by itself, justified disallowance. The departmental appeals therefore failed, and the assessee's credit claim was sustained.

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Issues: Whether Modvat credit could be denied merely because the invoices did not bear pre-printed serial numbers, in the face of the procedural requirements under the Central Excise Rules.

Analysis: The Tribunal held that the absence of pre-printed serial numbers on invoices, by itself, did not justify denial of Modvat credit where the receipt of goods and payment of duty were not in dispute. Reliance was placed on earlier Tribunal decisions taking the same view, and the departmental objection based solely on the invoice format was rejected as insufficient to defeat the substantive entitlement to credit.

Conclusion: Modvat credit could not be denied merely on the ground that the invoices lacked pre-printed serial numbers, and the departmental appeals failed.

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