New Delhi, October 8, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on Thursday approved a series of taxpayer-friendly reforms aimed at easing compliance for businesses, including the removal of arrest powers from tax officers and a five-fold increase in the prosecution threshold to Rs 5 crore from the existing Rs 1 crore.
The decisions were taken at the 57th meeting of the GST Council chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi.
Addressing reporters after the meeting, Sitharaman said the Council focused on process-related reforms to improve the ease of doing business and reduce compliance burdens, rather than making changes to GST rates.
“No rate changes have been made. The rate structure is settled,” the Finance Minister said, adding that last year’s discussions had focused on simplifying GST rates, while this year’s meeting concentrated on streamlining procedures.
“GST Council scraps arrest power of tax officers; raises prosecution threshold to Rs 5 crore from 1 crore,” Sitharaman said.
The Council also approved automatic acceptance of routine changes in GST registration. The move is expected to reduce administrative delays and make compliance processes more efficient for businesses.
Refund processing was also streamlined, with the acknowledgement period for refund applications reduced to 10 days from the existing 15 days.
In a major relief for taxpayers, the Finance Minister said 90 per cent of eligible refund claims would be issued within three working days, a measure aimed at improving liquidity for businesses and exporters.
The Council also expanded the scope of input tax credit (ITC), allowing businesses to claim credit on additional categories of expenditure, including telecom towers and employer-provided insurance cover.
The 57th GST Council meeting was rescheduled from Wednesday due to unavoidable circumstances. It was attended by representatives of the Centre and state governments.
The participants included the Chief Ministers of Delhi, Goa, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Meghalaya; Deputy Chief Ministers of Manipur and Telangana; Finance Ministers and senior representatives from states and Union Territories; the Secretary of the Department of Revenue; the Chairman and members of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC); and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance.
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