CENVAT Credit eligibility reforms urged to broaden capital goods scope and align input service and penalty rules.
The article recommends narrowing litigation and modernising CENVAT Credit by broadening the definition of capital goods, allowing first year credit for capital acquisitions, expanding input service eligibility for service providers and reinstating "setting up" to protect establishment related credits. It urges incorporation of a notification permitting utilisation of credit when inputs or capital goods are removed or written off, redrafting export treatment language to clarify when services qualify as exports based on timely foreign currency receipt, and aligning penalty rules with interest provisions to avoid penalising unutilised wrongful credits. (AI Summary)