The golden rule of construction, is that a section must receive a meaning, as spelt out in the enactment. Under section 244A of the Income-tax Act, 1961, refund of any amount firstly becomes due to the assessee upon an order of assessment made by the Assessing Officer. In addition to a refund of excess tax received or collected, the assessee is also entitled to interest on the excess refunded by order of assessment ; however, the period of interest is governed by section 244A(2). Section 244A(2) provides that the period taken by the assessee to cure the defects in finalising the assessment is to be excluded for interest calculation. As it stood for the applicable AYs, sub-section (2) merely refers to reasons attributable to the assessee. Therefore, omission or commission in the return filed by the assessee resulting in a delay in assessment is attributable to the assessee ; hence, the time taken to cure those omissions and defects is excluded for interest calculation. Dismissing the appeal the Court held that   the assessee was not entitled to interest for the period taken by the assessee for curing the defects or omissions in the return or in the annexures filed along with the returns. In other words, the interregnum period, i. e., the period taken by the assessee for rectifying the defects or curing the omissions, did not entail the receipt of interest.