Commercial parlance governs excise exemption for three-wheeled autorickshaws, not a limited Motor Vehicles Act definition.

The excise exemption for three-wheeled auto-rickshaws and their chassis had to be construed in common and commercial parlance, not by importing the Motor Vehicles Act definition framed only for registration purposes. Trade usage, affidavits, registration material and the departmental circular showed that the vehicle was understood in the market as an autorickshaw. On that basis, the vehicle could not be denied exemption merely because it did not fit the other statute's definition, and the notification was treated as applicable to the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the three-wheeled vehicle manufactured by the assessee and its chassis were entitled to exemption under Notification No. 162/86-C.E. as autorickshaws, or whether the definition of autorickshaw in the notification issued under Section 41(4) of the Motor Vehicles Act controlled the meaning for excise purposes.

Analysis: The relevant excise notification covered three-wheeled auto-rickshaws and chassis therefor. The definition of autorickshaw issued under the Motor Vehicles Act was framed for the limited purpose of registration and description in the registration certificate, and could not be treated as an exhaustive definition for construing the excise exemption. The expression had to be understood in its common and commercial parlance sense. On the evidence of trade usage, affidavits, registration material, and the departmental circular clarifying that three-wheeled vehicles covered by the specified headings would remain eligible for the notification, the vehicle was treated in the market as an autorickshaw.

Conclusion: The vehicle could not be denied exemption merely because it did not fit the Motor Vehicles Act definition relied upon by the Revenue. It was held to be an autorickshaw for the purpose of the excise notification and the exemption was available to the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: A definition contained in another statute, especially one framed for a limited purpose, cannot be imported to construe an exemption notification under a different fiscal enactment where the commercial parlance meaning of the goods governs.

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