The 57th Meeting of the Goods and Services Tax Council (“GST Council”) is scheduled to be held on Thursday, October 08, 2026, from 11:00 A.M. onwards at the Summit Room, Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The meeting was earlier fixed for September 12, 2026 and thereafter October 07, 2026, before being rescheduled for the second time. The latest schedule has been reported by A2Z Taxcorp on the basis of the Office Memorandum issued by the GST Council Secretariat. As on the meeting has not yet taken place and the formal agenda has not been placed in the public domain. Accordingly, the points discussed below are key expectations and reported proposals, and should not be treated as final recommendations of the GST Council.
News Sources: A2Z Taxcorp – 57th GST Council Meeting rescheduled to October 8, 2026; Business Standard – Meeting rescheduled to October 8
Background: GST 2.0 moves from rate rationalisation to process reform
The broad expectation ahead of the 57th GST Council Meeting is that the next phase of GST reform will focus less on changing tax slabs and more on fixing the operating architecture of GST. After the major rate rationalisation exercise undertaken in September 2025, government sources and multiple news reports indicate that the Council is likely to concentrate on registration, returns, refunds, input tax credit (“ITC”), export treatment, enforcement, litigation management and technology-driven administration. The reform theme is therefore increasingly being described as the “process” phase of GST 2.0.
For taxpayers, this shift is potentially more important than another round of rate cuts. Delayed refunds, accumulated credit, repeated registration formalities, buyer-side ITC disputes, low-value show-cause notices and the fear of criminal consequences in interpretational disputes directly affect working capital and the cost of doing business. The meeting is therefore expected to test whether GST can move from a control-heavy model to a more trust-based and risk-based framework without weakening anti-evasion safeguards.
News Sources: A2Z Taxcorp – Process reforms and ease of doing business; Moneycontrol – Faster refunds, registration, faceless interface and decriminalisation; India Today – GST 2.0: what to expect
- Faster GST registration with more automatic approvals
A major expectation is a substantial reduction in the time and human intervention involved in obtaining GST registration. Reports indicate that approximately 61 per cent of registrations are presently granted automatically within three working days, and the policy objective is to expand this automated route to substantially all eligible and low-risk applications. The redesigned registration process may guide applicants through only the fields relevant to them and generate a customised document list so that applications are complete at the first stage itself.
The Council is also expected to consider simplified amendments to registration details. Changes relating to trade name, directors or partners and additional places of business may move towards self-certification or automatic processing rather than requiring repeated officer intervention. For compliant taxpayers closing a business, immediate or faster voluntary cancellation of registration is also reported to be under consideration, subject to all returns having been filed and dues being discharged.
News Sources: Moneycontrol – Registration target and self-certification proposals; A2Z Taxcorp – GST registration and returns to become simpler; Economic Times – Auto refunds, swifter ITC and faster registration
- Major relief for small e-commerce sellers through easier multi-State registration
Small sellers using e-commerce platforms could be among the biggest beneficiaries of the proposed process reforms. At present, sellers holding inventory in another State may need a GST registration and a place of business in that State. The reported proposal would allow an eligible small seller to use the e-commerce platform’s warehouse as its registered place of business in a State where the seller does not maintain its own premises.
Under the proposed model, physical verification and Aadhaar authentication could be completed in the seller’s principal State. Additional registrations may thereafter be obtained with the platform’s consent, without repeated physical verification or extensive interaction with local tax officers. Reports estimate that this could help around 9.5 lakh small sellers expand their market reach nationally while reducing fixed compliance costs.
If approved with appropriate safeguards, this could materially lower the entry barrier for micro and small enterprises seeking to sell across India. The final design, including eligibility thresholds, responsibility of the platform, place-of-business conditions and safeguards against shell registrations, will be important.
News Sources: Economic Times – E-commerce sellers and genuine buyers; A2Z Taxcorp – Small e-commerce sellers may get easier registration; Economic Times – MSME demands ahead of 57th Council
- Refund processing may be transformed through a 10-day acknowledgement and 90% risk-based release
Refund reform is expected to be one of the most consequential items. The reported proposal is that a refund application should be acknowledged by the system within 10 days. If the proper officer does not act within that period, the claim may be treated as deemed acknowledged. After a system-driven risk check, 90 per cent of an eligible refund claim could be released automatically, with the balance being paid after normal verification.
Government sources cited in news reports have suggested that the objective is to bring the effective refund cycle closer to about 17 days for low-risk claims. This would be a significant improvement for exporters and businesses with large accumulated credits because refund delay is not merely a procedural inconvenience; it functions as an interest-free financing burden on the taxpayer.
Another important element is greater use of data already available with Customs, the Reserve Bank of India and government systems. Automatic matching of export invoices and bank realisations could reduce repetitive document uploads and manual verification. The success of this reform will depend on transparent risk parameters, a clear mechanism for handling mismatches and strict timelines for the balance 10 per cent.
News Sources: A2Z Taxcorp – Over 38,000 exporters may get cash refunds; Moneycontrol – Faster refund model; Economic Times – 90% risk-based refund system
- Wider refund of accumulated ITC on input services and capital goods
The Council is also expected to consider a structural change in the refund framework for accumulated ITC, particularly in inverted-duty situations and export-oriented businesses. Under the existing framework, the refund formula can leave credit relating to input services and capital goods locked in the electronic credit ledger even where output supplies are zero-rated or taxed at a lower rate.
Reports suggest that refunds may be widened to include tax paid on input services and plant and machinery. A2Z Taxcorp has reported that more than 38,000 export taxpayers could become eligible for cash refunds of such taxes. In relation to plant and machinery, the refund may be spread over a period of five years, while relief for input services could be introduced earlier. Business Today has also reported that separate timelines are being examined, with input-service refunds potentially commencing in the current financial year and capital-goods refunds from April 2027.
If the proposal is approved, it could materially improve liquidity in capital-intensive and inversion-prone sectors such as textiles, food processing, pharmaceuticals, electric vehicles, renewable energy, telecom, refining and infrastructure. However, the eventual statutory formula, treatment of depreciation, interaction with zero-rated refunds and transition of existing accumulated credit will require careful drafting.
News Sources: A2Z Taxcorp – Refund of input services and machinery; A2Z Taxcorp – Phased cash refunds on machinery/capital goods; Business Today – Wider IDS refund mechanism
- Export of services, overseas branches and GCCs may get long-awaited certainty
The treatment of export services routed through overseas branches of Indian companies is another important area of expectation. Under the existing legal framework, disputes arise where the supplier and recipient are treated as establishments of the same person, even though the underlying economic customer is overseas and foreign exchange is earned. The Council may consider removing or relaxing this impediment so that genuine cross-border supplies routed through an overseas branch can qualify as zero-rated exports.
The reform could be especially relevant for Global Capability Centres (“GCCs”), technology companies, engineering service providers, BPOs and other cross-border service businesses. Reports also indicate that work performed in India on goods belonging to a foreign client — including testing, repair, processing, clinical trials and contract manufacturing — may be treated as export in specified situations, instead of attracting 18 per cent GST merely because the activity is performed in India.
The Council may also align GST rules on receipt of export consideration with the RBI framework and use banking data to verify realisation. A well-drafted clarification could reduce a large body of place-of-supply and “establishment of distinct person” litigation, while ensuring that domestic consumption remains taxed.
News Sources: A2Z Taxcorp – Export refunds and overseas branch proposals; Moneycontrol – GCC exports and registration expectations; Moneycontrol – Pharma services and “work on goods” for foreign clients
- Protection of bona fide buyers from supplier-side tax default under Section 16(2)(c) of the CGST Act
One of the most closely watched reforms concerns denial of ITC to a genuine purchaser because the supplier, or a supplier further up the chain, has failed to deposit tax. Section 16(2)(c) of the CGST Act makes availment of ITC conditional upon the tax charged on the supply having been actually paid to the Government by the supplier, either in cash or through utilisation of admissible credit. The condition effectively makes the recipient’s credit contingent on an act of a third party, and this is the provision at the heart of the controversy. The issue has generated extensive litigation because a recipient may possess a valid tax invoice, receive the goods or services, make payment through banking channels and see the invoice reflected in the system, yet still face credit denial for a default over which it had no practical control.
The reported proposal would amend or relax the condition in Section 16(2)(c) so as to protect ITC of a bona fide buyer where the transaction is genuine and the buyer has complied with prescribed conditions, while directing recovery against the defaulting supplier. The government’s ability to match invoice-level data is cited as a reason why enforcement can now be targeted closer to the source of the mismatch instead of automatically shifting the burden to the recipient.
This could be a landmark change if the final rule clearly defines what constitutes a “genuine” or “bona fide” buyer and does not recreate uncertainty through excessive documentary conditions. Safeguards would still be necessary in cases involving collusion, fake invoicing or non-existent supplies.
News Sources: A2Z Taxcorp – ITC protection for genuine buyers; Economic Times – Genuine buyer ITC protection; A2Z Taxcorp – Sweeping reforms to unlock tax credit
- Section 17(5) blocked-credit restrictions may be significantly rationalised
A broader review of blocked ITC under Section 17(5) of the CGST Act is also expected. According to reports, the proposals could widen credit for several expenditure categories that are genuine business costs but are presently blocked or restricted. These reportedly include health and life insurance for employees, outdoor catering, telecommunication towers, pipelines outside factories, certain free samples and expired goods requiring destruction, vehicles having seating capacity up to 13 persons along with related insurance and maintenance, and leasing or hiring of vehicles.
Employer-provided group health and life insurance has attracted particular attention. Individual life and health insurance policies may be exempt in specified contexts, while group policies purchased by employers can carry 18 per cent GST and the employer is generally unable to claim ITC. Allowing credit would lower the effective cost of employee insurance and may encourage employers to provide wider or higher coverage.
The telecom, refining, petrochemical, fertiliser, gas distribution and infrastructure sectors could benefit materially if credit restrictions on towers and pipelines are relaxed. The final amendments will need to distinguish between genuine business-use assets and expenditure that remains personal or consumption-oriented.
News Sources: A2Z Taxcorp – Blocked ITC reform proposals; A2Z Taxcorp – Employee insurance ITC; Moneycontrol – Group insurance and pharma relief
- Simpler return filing for small B2C taxpayers
A simpler return-filing model is reportedly under consideration for small businesses. Taxpayers having turnover up to Rs. 5 crore and supplying exclusively to unregistered customers may be given an option to file GST returns annually while paying tax quarterly. The objective is to reduce repetitive filing for businesses whose outward supplies do not create recipient-side ITC matching requirements.
This proposal could reduce compliance costs for small retailers and service providers, but the details will matter. The Council will have to determine eligibility, turnover computation, treatment of occasional B2B supplies, invoice reporting requirements, transition during the year and the mechanism for reconciling annual liability with quarterly payments.
News Sources: Business Today – Annual return with quarterly payments up to Rs. 5 crore; A2Z Taxcorp – Simplified annual return and quarterly tax payment; Moneycontrol – Annual returns for some small taxpayers
- No show-cause notice below Rs. 10,000 and stronger pre-notice safeguards
The Council may take a significant step towards reducing low-value litigation by prescribing a minimum monetary threshold for issuance of GST demand notices. Reports suggest that no show-cause notice may be issued where the amount involved is below Rs. 10,000, and that the relief could potentially extend to specified pending matters at the adjudication or appellate stage.
For amounts above the threshold, tax officers may be required to first issue an intimation and give the taxpayer an opportunity to explain the difference before a formal show-cause notice is issued. Common standards are also being discussed for drafting and serving notices, distinguishing fraud from ordinary short-payment, conducting personal hearings and passing reasoned orders.
If implemented properly, this could reduce the volume of disputes that consume disproportionate taxpayer and departmental resources. Economic Times has reported that low-value cases form a sizeable share of litigation by number while contributing little to revenue. A disciplined pre-notice process could also prevent return mismatches and clerical differences from immediately becoming adversarial proceedings.
News Sources: A2Z Taxcorp – Notices below Rs. 10,000 may be scrapped; Economic Times – Low-value litigation and pre-notice safeguards; Economic Times – Auto refunds, swifter ITC, fewer notices
- Decriminalisation: arrest powers may be curtailed and prosecution threshold may rise to Rs. 5 crore
The enforcement reform is likely to be among the most debated items. The Centre is reported to favour a trust-based framework under which GST officers would no longer make pre-prosecution arrests in routine cases. Instead, arrest in a criminal matter would follow the establishment of criminality and judicial or law-enforcement oversight. Serious fraud and deliberate tax evasion would continue to attract prosecution.
As part of the decriminalisation package, the monetary threshold for prosecution is proposed to be raised from Rs. 1 crore to Rs. 5 crore. Reports also indicate that several offences could be removed from the prosecution provisions, while routine classification, valuation or ITC disputes would be kept outside the criminal net unless accompanied by evidence of fraud or deliberate evasion. Civil recovery of tax, interest and proportionate penalty would remain available to the department.
The policy justification is that GST now has much stronger invoice matching, return analytics and data trails than at the time of implementation in 2017. The key challenge will be to preserve effective action against fake invoicing networks while ensuring that interpretational disputes do not expose bona fide taxpayers and senior management to coercive criminal consequences.
News Sources: A2Z Taxcorp – Arrest powers and prosecution threshold; Economic Times/PTI – Proposal to scrap officers’ arrest powers; threshold Rs. 5 crore; Moneycontrol – Decriminalisation likely on agenda
- Faceless CGST administration and deeper use of data
The Centre is also reported to be working towards a faceless interface for Central GST, broadly on the lines of technology-led income-tax administration. The stated objective is to reduce unnecessary direct interaction between taxpayers and tax officers, improve consistency and allocate cases on the basis of data and risk rather than local discretion.
A faceless model could cover selected stages of scrutiny, verification, refund processing and communication, although the precise architecture has not yet been announced. Reports indicate that implementation may take a few months and may be rolled out in phases through 2027. The effectiveness of the model will depend on strong digital records, accountable escalation channels and meaningful opportunities for personal hearing where legally required.
News Sources: Moneycontrol – Centre plans faceless CGST interface; Economic Times – Faceless GST and phased implementation
- More predictable movement of goods and rationalised e-way bill enforcement
Movement of goods across States may also see a shift towards intelligence-led enforcement. One reported proposal would permit vehicles carrying goods to be stopped on the basis of specific prior authorisation from a senior officer and, generally, by the State of origin, subject to exceptions such as absence of mandatory documents or situations where tax is payable by the recipient.
The objective is to reduce repeated stoppage of the same vehicle by multiple jurisdictions and to make transit time more predictable. For sectors operating just-in-time supply chains, repeated road-side checks can have a cost far beyond the tax involved. A technology-driven authorisation trail could reduce discretionary interception while still allowing targeted action based on risk information.
News Sources: A2Z Taxcorp – Goods movement may get more predictable; A2Z Taxcorp – E-way bill and process reform proposals
- Agriculture-focused relief: seed storage, isabgol, bio-stimulants, coffee curing and tractor tyres
Although the dominant theme is process reform, some targeted rate and exemption proposals are expected. Agriculture is one area where government sources have indicated specific relief. Storage and warehousing of seeds meant for sowing may be exempt from GST even where the seeds undergo grading, treatment or packing before reaching farmers. The Council may also place psyllium (isabgol) seeds in the nil-rate category and exempt coffee-curing services.
Seaweed-based bio-stimulants registered under the Fertiliser Control Order, 1985 are reported to be considered for a reduction to 5 per cent from 18 per cent. Retreaded tractor tyres may also be proposed at 5 per cent instead of 18 per cent. These measures are intended to reduce the tax component embedded in farm-input and post-harvest costs while clarifying classification disputes.
News Sources: A2Z Taxcorp – Farm inputs and seed storage relief; Moneycontrol – GST Council may rationalise tax on farm inputs
- Healthcare and pharmaceutical sector may receive targeted relief
The pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors are also expected to see targeted proposals. Imported drugs, medicines and specialised foods used for treatment of specified rare diseases may be considered for GST exemption. Such relief would directly reduce the tax burden in high-cost therapies where monthly treatment expenditure can be substantial.
As noted earlier, clinical trials, testing, analysis and contract manufacturing carried out in India for a foreign sponsor may also be given export treatment in specified circumstances. Combined with wider ITC refunds on input services and plant and machinery, this could improve the competitiveness of Indian pharmaceutical contract research and manufacturing operations.
News Sources: Moneycontrol – Rare disease drugs, pharma services and insurance ITC; Business Standard – GST Council topic page on pharma/export proposals
- E-commerce delivery tax parity may be considered
Another reported proposal concerns the GST treatment of delivery services supplied in the e-commerce ecosystem. The Council may examine whether identical delivery services should face a uniform tax incidence irrespective of the commercial model adopted by a particular platform. A2Z Taxcorp has reported a proposal for a single 5 per cent GST rate without ITC for specified e-commerce delivery services.
The underlying policy issue is tax neutrality: a customer receiving the same delivery service should not face materially different tax outcomes merely because one platform structures the transaction differently from another. The final wording and scope, if any recommendation is made, will be important for quick-commerce, marketplace and logistics operators.
News Sources: A2Z Taxcorp – Single 5% GST on e-commerce deliveries reported as proposal; Moneycontrol – Uniform tax incidence across platforms
- IGST exemption on bullion imports by nominated entities may be withdrawn
The Council is also expected to examine withdrawal of the IGST exemption currently available to specified banks and nominated agencies on imports of gold, silver and platinum. The exemption dates back to an earlier market structure in which bullion imports and distribution were more tightly canalised. With bullion exchanges and market infrastructure having evolved, the government is reportedly considering a more uniform tax treatment.
If the exemption is withdrawn, the affected entities would need to evaluate cash-flow and ITC implications. The measure may improve tax parity across import channels, although implementation would need to avoid creating avoidable working-capital distortion in the bullion trade.
News Sources: A2Z Taxcorp – Gold, silver and platinum import exemption under review; Financial Express – Group insurance ITC and financial-sector/bullion issues
- Rate stability may become a policy objective; broad-based rate cuts are not expected
Despite a few targeted sectoral proposals, no fresh broad-based rate rationalisation is expected to dominate the October 08 meeting. Multiple reports suggest that the government is looking for greater stability in the rate structure after the September 2025 reset. One proposal is that GST rate changes should ordinarily be considered only once a year and take effect from April 01, giving businesses greater certainty for pricing, annual contracts, budgeting and capital expenditure.
The question of GST on Merchant Discount Rate (“MDR”) relating to UPI transactions has been discussed in public debate, but current reports indicate that it is not part of the formal agenda at present. The main message is therefore likely to be that GST 2.0 now moves from rate redesign to process execution, with only limited and targeted rate corrections where a clear anomaly or policy concern exists.
News Sources: Moneycontrol – No major rate cuts; rate changes may be restricted to once a year; Business Today – Rate stability and April 1 implementation window; Mint – What could change for refunds, enforcement and rates
What businesses should closely watch after the meeting
- Whether the Council merely approves the policy direction or also recommends specific statutory amendments, Rules, circulars and implementation dates.
- The exact eligibility and safeguards for protecting bona fide buyers’ ITC where the supplier or an upstream vendor defaults, and whether the relief is delivered by amending Section 16(2)(c) of the CGST Act itself, through a conditional exception in the Rules, or merely by a clarificatory circular — a statutory amendment would offer far greater certainty, including for pending disputes.
- Whether refund of input services and capital goods is available only to exporters/inverted-duty taxpayers or is framed more broadly, and how the five-year machinery mechanism is calculated.
- The final scope of Section 17(5) relief, particularly employee insurance, outdoor catering, motor vehicles, telecom towers and pipelines.
- Whether the Rs. 10,000 notice threshold applies prospectively only or also to pending adjudication and appeals, and whether it is computed tax-period-wise, issue-wise or notice-wise.
- How the proposed arrest and prosecution reforms interact with fake-invoice cases, offences involving no supply, repeat offenders and prosecution already launched.
- The precise conditions for warehouse-based registration of e-commerce sellers and whether the relief is limited by turnover or enterprise classification.
- The effective dates for faceless CGST, annual return options, registration automation, export clarifications and refund automation.
- Whether targeted agriculture, pharma, e-commerce delivery and bullion proposals are approved as reported or modified during the Council’s deliberations.
Our Comments: The real significance of the 57th GST Council Meeting
The 57th GST Council Meeting could become one of the most important GST meetings since the major rate rationalisation of 2025, even if it makes comparatively few changes to headline tax rates. GST has matured to a stage where taxpayer pain is increasingly caused not by the existence of the tax itself, but by the way credit, refunds, registration, enforcement and litigation operate in practice.
The most transformative proposal would be a genuine move towards “trust but verify”. Protecting bona fide ITC, automating 90 per cent of low-risk refunds, allowing clean registrations within three working days, stopping trivial notices and reserving criminal law for serious fraud would change the taxpayer’s experience of GST more fundamentally than a marginal rate change. At the same time, trust-based administration can succeed only if data systems are strong enough to identify fake invoicing and deliberate evasion quickly and accurately.
The proposed widening of ITC and refund eligibility also deserves particular attention. GST was designed as a value-added tax in which tax paid at one stage should ordinarily flow as credit to the next stage. Every blocked credit that relates to a genuine business input becomes a cost and can produce cascading. Rationalising Section 17(5), refunding accumulated credit on services and machinery, and protecting honest recipients would therefore bring the system closer to the principle of seamless credit. In particular, recasting Section 16(2)(c) — which presently makes a recipient’s credit contingent on the supplier actually paying tax to the Government — would address one of the most litigated conditions in the GST law and place the consequence of default on the person who committed it, rather than on a compliant buyer who has already borne the tax.
For exporters, the combination of faster risk-based refunds, wider refund eligibility and clearer zero-rating for overseas-branch/GCC transactions could unlock working capital and reduce litigation. For MSMEs, easier registration, annual return options and reduced low-value disputes may cut the fixed cost of compliance. For larger businesses, faceless administration and clearer enforcement standards could improve predictability. The reform package is therefore broad enough to affect almost every category of GST taxpayer.
However, the final impact will depend on legal drafting and implementation. The GST Council makes recommendations; many of the larger proposals will require amendments to the CGST Act, corresponding State GST laws, Rules, notifications, circulars and portal changes. Businesses should therefore distinguish carefully between the Council’s recommendation, the subsequent statutory amendment and the actual effective date. Until the official recommendations are issued after the meeting, all proposals discussed in this article remain expectations based on reported information.
(Author can be reached at info@a2ztaxcorp.com)
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are strictly of the author and A2Z Taxcorp LLP. The contents of this article are solely for informational purpose and for the reader’s personal non-commercial use. It does not constitute professional advice or recommendation of the firm. The proposals discussed above are based on public news reports available as on October 07, 2026 and may be modified, deferred or rejected by the GST Council. Readers should refer to the official recommendations, notifications, circulars and statutory amendments for the final legal position. Neither the author nor the firm and its affiliates accepts liability for any loss or damage arising from reliance on this article.
