Retrospective expansion of "business" under sales tax law can cover Railway scrap sales as taxable commercial activity.

The amended definition of "business" under the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act was treated as wide enough to cover trade, commerce, manufacture, and transactions incidental or ancillary to them, even without a profit motive. On that basis, sales by the Railway of unserviceable materials and scrap could fall within taxable business activity. The Court also regarded the Railway's transportation activity as commerce, making such sales incidental or ancillary to that commerce. The retrospective operation of the amendment was considered within legislative competence, so the sales of scrap and unserviceable materials were brought within the charging framework.

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Issues: Whether sales of unserviceable materials and scrap by the Railway constituted "business" under the amended sales tax law and were therefore exigible to tax.

Analysis: The amended definition of "business" in the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1954 was wide enough to include trade, commerce, manufacture, and transactions incidental or ancillary thereto, whether or not carried on with a profit motive. The Railway's activity of selling unserviceable materials and scrap could fall within that enlarged definition. The Court also treated the Railway's transportation activity as commerce, making the impugned sales incidental or ancillary to such commerce. The retrospective operation of the amendment was held to be within legislative competence.

Conclusion: The sales of unserviceable materials and scrap were held taxable, and the challenge to liability failed.

Final Conclusion: The appeal was rejected because the amended statutory definition validly brought the Railway's sales of scrap and unserviceable materials within the charging framework.

Ratio Decidendi: A statutory definition of "business" may validly be given retrospective effect, and where the definition includes commercial activity and transactions incidental or ancillary thereto, sales of unserviceable materials and scrap by a Railway can constitute taxable business activity even without a profit motive.

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