Overview
- The GST Council is scheduled to meet on Oct. 7–8 to consider a second phase of reforms that set the framework for India’s indirect tax processes.
- A central proposal would remove GST officers’ power to arrest and raise the prosecution threshold to about Rs 5 crore while removing mandatory minimum jail terms and allowing fines as an alternative.
- The draft package would use technology to automate registrations and refunds, speed up input-tax-credit settlement, run faceless procedures and roll changes out in phases through 2027.
- Small disputes would be insulated from enforcement by a proposed rule to stop issuing notices for amounts below Rs 10,000, including some pending cases, and by measures to cut registration time to around three days.
- The government also proposes annualising rate decisions to take effect on April 1 and treating exports of services by customer location; states’ consent and IT readiness remain possible constraints on implementation.