Input tax credit on reverse-charge services from an unregistered...

Input tax credit on reverse-charge services from an unregistered foreign supplier was held sustainable where the registered recipient raised a self-invoice under section 31 read with rule 36, discharged tax under section 9(3), and claimed credit under section 16(2)(a). The Court treated the self-invoice as the valid tax-paying document and rejected denial of credit merely because the foreign supplier's invoice referred to a particular unit. It also held that, during the relevant period, section 20 was an enabling provision for ITC distribution and did not require mandatory Input Service Distributor registration; the later amendment supported that view. The demand and penalty were therefore unsustainable, including on revenue-neutrality grounds.