No.C2-7351/95/TX Dated : 13-2-1995
CIRCULAR No. 2/95
Sub: Clarification-“Cattle Feed whether includes Tamarind Seed Powder-Instructions issued.
A doubt has been raised as to whether the entry “Cattle Feed” in the First Schedule to the KGST Act will include Tamarind Seed Powder. The doubt arises from the assumption that the entry will take within its fold only branded cattle feed and also those items specifically mentioned in the entry.
The entry 24 of First Schedule to the KGST Act reads:
Cattle feed (including gingili oil cake, groundnut oil At the point of first in the 6 %
Cakes, rice bran poultry feeds) other than those State by a dealer who is liable
specifically mentioned in the Schedule to tax Under Section 5
Interpretation of the provision of statute containing the word “including” came up before the Courts on several occasions. In State of Bombay v. Hospital Mazdoor sabha (AIR 1960 SC 610) the Supreme Court held:
“It is obvious that the words used in an inclusive definition denote extension and cannot be treated as restricted in any sense. (Vide Strouds’ “Judicial Dictionary” Vol.2 page 1415). Where we are dealing with an inclusive definition it would be inappropriate to put a restrictive interpretation upon terms of wider denotation.”
Further in the Regional Director, Employees State Insurance Corporation v. High Land Coffee Works of P.F.X. Saldanha & Sons and another (AIR 1992 SC 129) the Supreme Court held:
“The word “include” in the statutory definition used to enlarge the meaning of the preceding words and it is by way of extension and not with restriction. The word ‘include’ is very generally used in interpretation clauses in order to enlarge the meaning of words or phrases occurring in the body of the statute, and when it is so used, these words or phrases must be construed as comprehending, not only such things as they signify according to their natural import but also those things which the interpretation clause declares that they shall include.”
Again in Delhi Judicial Service Association. This Hasari Court v. State of Gujarat (AIR 1991 S.C. 2176), the Supreme Court held:
CIRCULARS UNDER THE K.G.S.T. ACT
“Art, 129 declares the Supreme Court a court of record and it further provides that the Supreme Court shall have all the powers of such a Court including the power to punish for contempt of itself. The expression used in Art. 129 is not restrictive instead it is extensive in nature. If the framers of the Constitution intended that the Supreme Court shall have power to punish for contempt of itself only, there was no necessity for inserting the expression “including the power to punish for contempt of itself”. The Article confers power on the Supreme Court to punish for contempt of itself and in addition, it confers some additional power relating to contempt as would appear from the expression “including”. The expression “including” has been interpreted by Courts to extend and widen the scope of power.”
From the above it is clear that the word “including” occurring in entry 24 only amplifiers the meaning of the word “Cattle Feed” that would normally have been conceived on a plain reading of the word “Cattle Feed”.
The meaning of the word “Cattle” given in ‘Webstors’ Encyclopaedic unabridged Dictionary of the English Language is-
“Bovine animals, esp, domesticated members of the genius Bos”.
Again the meaning of the word “feed” is food esp. for farm animals, as cattle, horses, chicken etc”. In the New Encyclopaedia Britanica (15th Edition) “Feed” is described thus:
“feed also called ANIMAL FEED, food stuff grown or developed for livestock and poultry selected and prepared to provide highly nutritional diet that will both maintain the health of the animals and increase the quantity of such end products as meat, milk or egg…
xxx xxx xxx xxx
Livestock and poultry feeds are derived from crops grown specially for that purpose, such as hay or pastures grass, by products of foods produced for human consumption, or those rendered from surplus crops. Most diets, however involve a combination of feeds from these sources.”
So any item, the predominant use of which is feed cattle, would come under “Cattle Feed”. ‘Tamarind seed Powder’ is predominantly used to feed cattle and in common parlance understood as “cattle feed”. Even if there can be any special use for the item it would not go outside the purview of the term “Cattle Feed”. In Mahabir Flour Mills v. Commissioner of Commercial Taxes (1987) 65 STC 256 it was held:
“The unimpeachable documents placed on the record by the petitioners are sufficient to hold that what bran is used primarily for feeding the cattle and, in common parlance it would be classified as a cattle fodder and hence it would not go outside the purview of cattle fodder only on account of some special use to which it may be put to may which it may put to by some consumers.”
In the light of the above discussion, “Tamarind Seed Powder” will also fall under entry 24 of the First Schedule to the KGST Act.