The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Mumbai bench has held that the cenvat credit cannot be denied to the assessee merely due to technical irregularities.
The appellant availed the Cenvat Credit amount of Rs.3,96,327/- on input services on the basis of the invoice issued at its unregistered address at Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh from where no output service was provided and also which address was not registered as Input Service Distributor. The department denied the benefit of credit to the appellant by holding that the input service provider had mentioned the incorrect address in the invoice.
Before the Tribunal, the appellant contended that if the particulars relating to cenvat credit on input service are genuine, then the credit cannot be denied merely because input service provider had mentioned incorrect address in the invoice.
“In the absence of a statutory provision which prescribes that registration is mandatory, the claim of the Appellant cannot be rejected and both the authorities below have committed an error in rejecting the same. In a very recent decision of the Tribunal in the matter of ABM Knowledge Ltd. Vs. Commissioner of Customs, Mumbai Appeal-III, a similar issue has been decided in favour of the assessee and it has been held that non-mentioning of registered premises is only a procedural lapse. At the cost of repetition, it is relevant to mention here that there is no dispute with respect to the receipt of input services, its use, the quantum of credit and period. It is settled a legal position that any beneficial provision should be interpreted liberally. There is a lapse but on whose part, whether on the part of the service provider or the appellant. Since it is merely procedural lapse due to which substantive benefit of Cenvat Credit cannot be denied to the Appellant, therefore, there is no need to go into this aspect. As the Appellant has rightly availed the cenvat credit, therefore, there is no question of imposition of penalty or interest and since I am allowing the appeal on this issue itself, therefore, I am not going into other aspects of the matter viz. Issue of extended period etc,” the Tribunal said.
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