CESTAT Quashes CENVAT credit of Excise duty demand taken on Capital goods on ground of Absence of Sufficient Evidence [Read Order]

The Kolkata bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) quashed the CENVAT credit of excise duty demand which taken on the capital goods on the ground of absence of sufficient evidence. 

Amit Metaliks Limited, the appellant assessee are manufacturers of MS Ingots, MS Billets, and other Re-rolled MS products falling under Chapter 72 of CETA, 1985 and they had taken CENVAT Credit on various inputs, Capital goods, and consumables for the manufacture of their end products as well as for the manufacture of captively consumed capital goods like Furnace, Accessories, Cooling Bed, Conveyor System, Mill Accessories, EOT Crane Operating System, Pollution Control System, and Electrical Installation System, etc. 

The assessee appealed against the order passed by the adjudicating authority for confirming the CENVAT Credit demand taken on Capital goods and inputs used for Capital goods-96,39,797/-. 

Sourabh Bagaria and Indranil Banerjee, the counsels for the assessee contended that so long as the goods received are inputs or capital goods and they are used within the factory of manufacture, the CENVAT Credit cannot be denied on them. 

P. K. Ghosh, the counsel for the department relied on the decisions made by the lower authorities and contended that the assessee was not eligible for the CENVAT credit. 

The Bench observed that the assessee had filed their Monthly Returns properly declaring the CENVAT credit taken by them on various counts and interpretations, suppression clause cannot be invoked against the assessee. Therefore, the assessee could have the bonafide belief that they are eligible for CENVAT Credit. 

The two-member bench comprising Muralidhar (Judicial) and K Anpazhakan (Technical) quashed the CENVAT credit demand imposed against the assessee. 

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