A lease is a contractual arrangement between Owner (lessor) & user (lessee) whereby one party, the lessor, grants the right to use a particular assets (such as a parcel of land, building, equipment, or machinery etc) for a specific period and under specified conditions to the other party, the lessee.

Leases are broadly classified into two categories :

1) Finance Lease

Finance lease is relatively for a longer period which is sufficient to amortise the capital invested by the lessor (owner) & leave some profit. It involves transfer of all risk & rewards associated with the ownership of assets to the lessee but the title may or may not be transferred at the end of lease period.

2) Operating Lease/Service lease/Maintenance lease


Operating lease is relatively for a short period of time. The lease period is shorter than economic life of the assets. Operating lease require the lessor to maintain & service the leased assets.

The taxable event in GST is “supply” of goods or services or both. So a transaction to become taxable it must covers within the meaning & scope of “supply”

As per Sec 7 of the CGST Act, 2017, the expression supply includes all forms of supply of goods or services or both such as sale, transfer, barter, exchange, licence, rental, lease or disposal made or agreed to be made for a consideration by a person in the course or furtherance of business;

As per Sec 2(83). “outward supply” in relation to a taxable person, means supply of goods or services or both, whether by sale, transfer, barter, exchange, licence, rental, lease or disposal or any other mode, made or agreed to be made by such person in the course or furtherance of business.
From the above discussion, it is cleared that the term “lease” is covered within the meaning & scope of “supply” and it is a taxable supply.