What is meaning of word "include” in a statutory definition? Supreme Court Larger Bench Explains
A Division Bench of the Supreme Court had in 2010 () observed, "it appears that by employing the phrase "and includes", legislature did not intend to impart a restricted meaning to the definition of "inputs" and therefore, the interpretation of the said term in Maruti Suzuki Limited (), may require reconsideration by a larger bench".
And the Larger Bench recently ruled that the word "include” in the statutory definition is generally used to enlarge the meaning of the preceding words and it is by way of extension, and not with restriction.
The issue in this case started sometime in 2002 when Show Cause Notices were issued to the assessee for recovery of erroneous credit on welding electrodes. The case had taken twists and turns and is now again to be decided by the Division Bench based on the findings of the Larger Bench.