ORDER
K.S. Venkataramani, Member (T)
1. The issue in this appeal is whether the assessee operating under the Modvat credit scheme can take credit on inputs received into his factory after a lapse of 6 months from the date of receipt or goods. The Respondents manufacture excisable goods under Chapter 68 of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985. It was found that Respondents had availed Modvat on one of the inputs namely MCI inserts which are used in the manufacture of final products i.e. railway sleepers and in the month of January, 1989 they had taken Modvat credit on the said input amounting to Rs. 5,79,811/-. It was found that this has been taken by the Respondents belatedly after the expiry of 6 months from the receipt of the inputs into their factory. Proceedings were, therefore initiated for recovery of the same and the jurisdictional Asstt. Commissioner passed an order dated 10-9-1991 confirm ing the demand in the show cause notice. The Commissioner (Appeals), Ahmedabad passed the impugned order allowing the Respondents appeal against the Asstt. Commissioner’s order held that there is nothing in the modvat rule prohibiting such an action of belated taking of credit. He also noted that in the present case the duty paying documents were available at the time of receipt of input on the basis of which only they had taken the input into stock in RG-23A Part-I Register. The present appeal by the Commissioner of Central Excise, Vadodara is against this order.
2. Shri D. Gurnani, the ld. DR relied upon the Tribunal decisions in the case of Commissioner v. Tamil Nadu Petro Products Ltd. -1996 (84) E.L.T. 263 and in the case of Andhra Electro Galvanising Works v. Collector -1995 (80) E.L.T. 322. In both these decisions the Tribunal had held that the Modvat credit should be taken within a reasonable period i.e. 6 months from the date of receipt of the inputs. The ld. Consultant for the Respondents Shri CM. Patel, however, submitted that the Commissioner (Appeals) has also relied upon the Tribunal decision in the case of Collector v. Premier Cables -1991 (37) ECR 457 in support of his conclusion that there is nothing in the Modvat rule to prohibit belated taking of credit.
3. We have considered the rival submissions. We find that in the two decisions of the Tribunal which are subsequent to the one relied upon by the Commissioner (Appeals), there has been a consistent view by the Tribunal that the Modvat credit would be taken by the assessee within a reasonable time limit which the Tribunal held to be 6 months. In the present case the credit has been taken by the Respondents after a lapse of more than 6 months from the date of receipt of the input. In such a situation following the ratio of the Tribunal decisions supra the impugned order is set aside and the order of the jurisdictional Asstt. Commissioner is restored. The appeal is allowed.
