Story perspectives

GST Council Reschedules 57th Meeting for October 8, 2026

By Drooid · Oct 6, 2026, 5:17 AM UTC · How we work

18 2

Summary

Story summary

The GST Council Secretariat rescheduled the 57th meeting to 8 October 2026, citing unavoidable circumstances.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will chair the meeting to discuss registration, returns, refunds and dispute-resolution.
The agenda includes reforms to curb GST officers’ arrest powers and raise criminal prosecution thresholds.
Proposals aim to protect buyers’ input tax credit if upstream suppliers default and ease registration for small e-commerce sellers.

History

Historical Context

When India launched the Goods and Services Tax on 1 July 2017, the tax replaced a fragmented regime and generated INR12 trillion in revenue that fiscal year. The inaugural GST Council, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, set a 28 percent rate and a 5-percent concessional rate for traders. Today's rescheduled 57th meeting, led by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, revisits those foundations by targeting input-tax-credit safeguards and easing e-commerce seller registration. If the council curtails officer arrest powers and raises prosecution thresholds, it could stabilize compliance, boost digital trade, and sustain GST’s fiscal deficit contribution.

1 of 2

Story summary

The GST Council Secretariat rescheduled the 57th meeting to 8 October 2026, citing unavoidable circumstances.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will chair the meeting to discuss registration, returns, refunds and dispute-resolution.
The agenda includes reforms to curb GST officers’ arrest powers and raise criminal prosecution thresholds.
Proposals aim to protect buyers’ input tax credit if upstream suppliers default and ease registration for small e-commerce sellers.

1 / 2