Introduction:
Under the erstwhile regime, levy of VAT on sale of goods is applicable only when such sale has been undertaken in the course of business. On the contrary, levy of excise duty or service tax are not connected with the existence of business. Under GST laws, the phrase ‘business’ assumes a lot of significance, for the reason that levy in general is on supply of goods or services while the definition of ‘Supply’ as given in Section 7 of Central Goods & Services Tax Act, 2017 (for brevity CGST Act) provides that they should be undertaken in the course of or furtherance of business. In this backdrop, let us analyse the term ‘Business’ in connection with supply and try to understand the possible scope for ambiguity and litigation.