Business and dealer definitions under sales tax law cover sale of storage tanks used in the trading activity.

Sale of storage tanks used in trading operations was treated as part of "business" under the Gujarat Sales Tax Act because the tanks were goods ancillary or incidental to the principal trade, being used to store the goods dealt in by the assessee. The Court gave the phrase "in connection with his business" its ordinary meaning and declined to rely on pre-enactment legislative materials, finding the statutory language plain. The assessee was therefore a "dealer" in relation to those sales, and the statutory questions were answered against the assessee and in favour of the Revenue.

---

---

Issues: Whether the sale of storage tanks used in the assessee's trading operations constituted "business" under section 2(4)(ii) of the Gujarat Sales Tax Act, 1969 and whether the assessee was a "dealer" in respect of those sales under section 2(10) of that Act.

Analysis: The statutory definitions were treated as clear and unambiguous. The sale of the storage tanks was held to be a transaction in respect of empties or other goods ancillary or incidental to the assessee's principal trade, since the tanks were used for storing the goods dealt in by the assessee. The words "in connection with his business" in the definition of "dealer" were given their ordinary meaning, and the Court declined to rely on pre-enactment legislative materials because the language of the statute was considered plain.

Conclusion: The sale of the storage tanks fell within the statutory definition of "business", and the assessee was a dealer in relation to those sales; the questions were answered against the assessee and in favour of the Revenue.

---