Cenvat Credit can’t be denied merely on ground that It was taken on Provisional Assessment: CESTAT [Read Order]

The Ahmedabad bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that the duty paid on the provisional assessment of bills of entry is legally authorized and the cenvat credit cannot be denied merely because the same was availed on provisional assessment.

The appellant availed cenvat credit in respect of CVD paid on imported raw-material namely copper Concentrates based on provisionally assessed bills of entry. The department denied the cenvat credit to the appellants by observing that the credit was availed on the basis of provisional assessment and the correct value of the goods is the value which was finally assessed. The department also contended that the amount of duty paid on the provisionally assessed bills of entry is a deposit and not the duty actually payable as per the finally assessed bill of entry, therefore, CVD paid as per provisionally assessed bill of entry is not admissible for cenvat credit to the appellant.

Aggrieved by the above action, the appellants approached the Tribunal.

The Tribunal bench, after analyzing the provisions of section 18 of the Customs Act, 1962, found that the duty paid on the provisional assessment of bills of entry is also with the authority of law.

“Therefore, it cannot be said that the payment made under provisionally assessed bills of entry is a deposit and not a duty. The provisionally assessed bills of entry are also valid document for availing the cenvat credit, for the reason that under Rule 9 of Cenvat Credit Rules only bill of entry is prescribed on the basis of which the payment of customs duty was made, therefore, bill of entry whether it is provisional of finally assessed, the Cenvat Credit is admissible. There is no bar in the law to restrict the Cenvat Credit on the CVD paid on the basis of provisionally assessed bills of entry. Therefore, merely because the Cenvat Credit was taken on provisionally assessed bills of entry, there is no reason to deny the Cenvat Credit. It is a settled law that even if any duty or excess duty paid which is otherwise not payable, and the recipient and Cenvat Credit cannot be disputed.”