Seamless flow of Input Tax Credit (ITC) is the cornerstone of a robust Value-Added Tax (VAT) architecture. Simply put, say Company A - whether a manufacturer, service provider or trader, who purchases goods or services for business purposes, the VAT charged by its vendors is typically available as a set-off to Company A for adjustment against its output VAT liability. Albeit this principle forms the core of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) law in India, interpretational issues regarding ITC continue to rear their head in diverse rulings and incremental tax disputes over the past years. Amongst these, the ITC eligibility of GST paid on purchases for fulfilling the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) obligation of businesses is one such issue. The debate on this is premised on whether such CSR expenditure is for use “in the course or furtherance of business” by taxpayers, or else it will fail the essential test of eligibility to ITC. Considering the dilemma, taxpayers opted for an advanced ruling route to achieve certainty of the tax position. However, while some rulings held such spending to be ‘in the course or furtherance of business’ as it is a mandatory obligation under the Companies Act, others denied the benefit since CSR activities are excluded from the normal course of business of taxpayers under Companies CSR Policy Rules. The need for certainty of treatment on this issue was further amplified considering the significant CSR expenditure incurred by businesses in the post-pandemic world and the divergent tax position adopted by the industry.