Overview
- The GST Council, which meets on Thursday, Oct. 8, will debate a wide package of operational reforms aimed at speeding refunds, easing input‑tax credit rules, reworking enforcement and simplifying registration and compliance.
- Key enforcement proposals under discussion include removing or curbing officers’ power to arrest, raising the prosecution threshold to about Rs 5 crore, and not issuing notices where the disputed amount is below Rs 10,000.
- On liquidity and credits officials are proposing faster automated refunds with a target of most claims processed within about 17 days and provisional release of roughly 90% of export refunds within 7–10 days plus relaxing blocked ITC rules for items such as employee insurance, catering, towers, pipelines and certain vehicles.
- E‑commerce and small sellers could gain one‑time verification or single‑state registration to sell nationwide and platforms’ delivery fees may be cut from 18% to 5% under draft proposals that seek simpler multi‑state compliance.
- Any changes will need formal Council approval, possible legal amendments and technical work by GSTN and other agencies before a phased rollout through 2027, with states watching revenue impact and businesses expecting faster cash flow and fewer low‑value disputes.