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The text below is these clauses of the section as served by the CBIC tax information portal on 17 September 2026, with the portal's own amendment footnote markers (shown as small numerals before a bracket) and its footnotes.[1] The Act as published in the Gazette of India is the legal source.
Clause 2(17), verbatim (show)
(17) "business" includes -
(a) any trade, commerce, manufacture, profession, vocation, adventure, wager or any other similar activity, whether or not it is for a pecuniary benefit;
(b) any activity or transaction in connection with or incidental or ancillary to sub-clause (a);
(c) any activity or transaction in the nature of sub-clause (a), whether or not there is volume, frequency, continuity or regularity of such transaction;
(d) supply or acquisition of goods including capital goods and services in connection with commencement or closure of business;
(e) provision by a club, association, society, or any such body (for a subscription or any other consideration) of the facilities or benefits to its members;
(f) admission, for a consideration, of persons to any premises;
(g) services supplied by a person as the holder of an office which has been accepted by him in the course or furtherance of his trade, profession or vocation;
(h) 5[activities of a race club including by way of totalisator or a license to book maker or activities of a licensed book maker in such club; and]
(i) any activity or transaction undertaken by the Central Government, a State Government or any local authority in which they are engaged as public authorities;
* Enforced w.e.f. 22nd July 2017.
5. Substituted for "(h) services provided by a race club by way of totalisator or a licence to book maker in such club; and." by s. 2 of The Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Act, 2018 (No. 31 of 2018) - Brought into force w.e.f. 01st February, 2019.
2(17)business
"business" includes - (a) any trade, commerce, manufacture, profession, vocation, adventure, wager or any other similar activity, whether or not it is for a pecuniary benefit; (b) any activity or transaction in connection with or incidental or ancillary to sub-clause (a); (c) any activity or transaction in the nature of sub-clause (a), whether or not there is volume, frequency, continuity or regularity of such transaction; (d) supply or acquisition of goods including capital goods and services in connection with commencement or closure of business; (e) provision by a club, association, society, or any such body (for a subscription or any other consideration) of the facilities or benefits to its members; (f) admission, for a consideration, of persons to any premises; (g) services supplied by a person as the holder of an office which has been accepted by him in the course or furtherance of his trade, profession or vocation; (h) activities of a race club including by way of totalisator or a license to book maker or activities of a licensed book maker in such club; and (i) any activity or transaction undertaken by the Central Government, a State Government or any local authority in which they are engaged as public authorities;Section 2(17)
The inclusive definition covers trade and similar activity, connected or incidental transactions and business commencement or closure, without the stated profit or regularity requirements. It also covers member facilities for consideration, paid admission, qualifying office-holder services, race clubs and licensed bookmakers, and Central Government, State Government or local-authority activities as public authorities.
Questions to answer on the file
Questions a reviewer answers from the engagement file, grouped by the part of the section they come from. They describe what the section asks; they do not decide it.
Business clause (17)(a) to (i)
Questions to answer on the file5 questions
Amendment history
The CBIC text carries 1 footnote. The table gives each in the source's own terms. Effective dates are as the footnotes state them.[1]
| Note | Change | Instrument | Effective from |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | substituted for the earlier race-club limb | s.2 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Act 2018, No. 31 of 2018[2] | 01.02.2019 |
References
- Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. "Section 2. Business". Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, CBIC tax information portal, with amendment footnotes 1 to 1. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
- The Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Act, 2018. Cited in CBIC footnote 5.
External links
- CGST Act, 2017, Section 2 on the CBIC tax information portal