57th GST Council Recommends Further Measures to Streamline GST Compliances and Align GSTAT Provisions with Tribunal Reforms

The 57th Meeting of the GST Council was held on October 08, 2026, in New Delhi, under the chairpersonship of the Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman. At the meeting, the GST Council made recommendations relating to process reforms, primarily covering registration, returns, refunds and adjudication; clarifications regarding the applicability of GST on supplies of certain goods and services; and other measures for trade facilitation and streamlining GST compliances.

Streamlining compliances in GST: The Council also made the following recommendations to streamline compliances in GST:

• amendment in section 16, section 37 and section 39 of the CGST Act, 2017, to align provisions relating to furnishing of statement of outward supply under section 37 and the return under section 39 of the CGST Act, 2017 with the provisions relating to time limit for availment of input tax credit under section 16(4) of the CGST Act, 2017.
• amendment in section 9(5) of the CGST Act, 2017, to provide clarity regarding liability of the ECO to pay tax for the notified services, irrespective of the business models being followed by him.
• introduction of a validation clause in CGST Act, 2017, for validation of notices which have been held invalid by various courts on the ground of having been issued for multiple financial years.
• extending e-invoicing to domestic supplies received from an unregistered person where the tax is payable under reverse charge mechanism, as well as to the import of services, for taxpayers having aggregate annual turnover of Rs. 5 crore and above.

GST Appellate Tribunal: The Council approved various amendments to the CGST Act, 2017 and the GSTAT (Appointment and Conditions of Service of President and Members) Rules, 2023 to align the provisions in respect of the GST Appellate Tribunal with the relevant provisions of the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2026 and the National Tribunals Commission and Qualification, Selection and Conditions of Service of Chairpersons and Members of Tribunals Rules, 2026.

The Press Release can be accessed at:  https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseDetail.aspx?PRID=2320934&reg=48&lang=1