The GST Council will hold its 57th meeting on October 8 instead of October 7. The council serves as the highest body for Goods and Services Tax matters. The meeting will begin at 11 am in Bharat Mandapam’s Summit Room, New Delhi. The GST Council Secretariat announced the change through an office memorandum. It cited unavoidable circumstances behind the revised date.
However, officials have now changed the meeting schedule twice. Initially, the council planned to meet on September 12. Later, it shifted the session to October 7 because of the BRICS Summit. New Delhi hosted the BRICS conference on September 12 and 13. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will chair the upcoming GST Council meeting. Members may discuss changes involving registration, return filing and refund arrangements.
The council will meet after a gap exceeding one year. Previously, it held its 56th meeting on September 3 and 4, 2025. During that session, members approved major changes under GST 2.0. Those reforms simplified the rate structure. Moreover, they introduced a special 40 percent rate for selected demerit and luxury goods. That rate replaced the earlier 28 percent slab and compensation cess on those products.
Sitharaman chairs the GST Council, while finance ministers from every state and Union Territory participate. Meanwhile, authorities have not publicly released the agenda for the 57th meeting. Therefore, the exact subjects for formal discussion remain undisclosed.
Procedural reforms could dominate discussions
Sources suggest the council may consider broad procedural reforms across the GST framework. Members could examine removing GST-related offences from the criminal category. Additionally, they may discuss ending GST officials’ powers to make arrests. The council could also consider easier tax compliance for businesses, including e-commerce suppliers.
Furthermore, members may examine policy reforms for resolving GST-related disputes. They could also consider measures to improve the flow of input tax credit. These proposed changes aim to reduce the time businesses spend on compliance. At the same time, the measures seek to lower associated costs. Therefore, the October 8 meeting could focus heavily on simplifying GST procedures for taxpayers.
