Overview
- The GST Council, which met on October 8 and 9, approved a sweeping set of process reforms that keep the existing GST rate structure but change how the system handles registration, refunds, returns and enforcement.
- Enforcement was recalibrated by removing tax officers’ power to arrest and raising the prosecution threshold from ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore to limit criminal action to larger frauds and emphasize trust-based, technology-led checks.
- Refunds and credit relief were expanded and accelerated with the acknowledgement window cut from 15 to 10 days, a system aim to provisionally sanction 90% of eligible claims within three working days, inverted-duty refunds for input services effective November 1, 2026, and plant and machinery refunds phased in from April 1, 2027.
- Administrative steps will be automated to reduce friction: routine registration amendments and many cancellations will be accepted automatically, inspections and e-way‑bill interceptions will be restricted to origin or destination states with higher authorization, and simpler return options for small taxpayers were approved in principle.
- Most measures require legislative amendments and portal upgrades, and a Committee of Officers will examine deferred technical ITC and legal issues with a report due in about three months, leaving final impact dependent on draft laws and system rollouts.