India’s Goods and Services Tax Council is expected to focus on easing compliance, speeding refunds and improving access to input tax credits at its Oct. 8 meeting. The discussion is expected to center on administration and procedures rather than tax rates.
The 57th meeting of the GST Council will be held in New Delhi. Sources in the Finance Ministry told The Hindu that tax rates would not be on the agenda. The meeting follows the Council’s session on Sept. 3–4, 2025, when it made broad changes to GST rates and tax slabs. India’s GST system turned nine on July 1, 2026. The Council has met 56 times and completed a five-year compensation period for states.
The Hindu reported that the central government’s five-pronged plan covers process reforms, structural changes, ease of living and doing business, services exports and e-commerce. Issues under consideration include business registration, tax returns, faster refunds and fewer restrictions on input tax credits.
M. S. Mani, a partner at Deloitte India, told the newspaper that steady collections in recent months could allow the Council to consider relief without undue risk to revenue. Rahul Ahluwalia, executive director of the Foundation for Economic Development, identified automatic refunds, especially for exporters, and preventing the accumulation of input tax credits as priorities for business working capital.
Tax specialists also cited uncertainty over how rules are interpreted, including transaction classification, valuation, place of supply and eligibility for tax credits. Prabhat Ranjan, a senior director at Nexdigm, warned that differing interpretations of the same transaction across states can increase litigation risks, reserve costs and working-capital blockages.
Proposals reported by The Hindu include allowing ordinary, documented business expenses to qualify for input tax credits. Such costs are currently ineligible and can raise the price of final goods. Another proposal would let businesses register in one state and sell across India. A harmonized audit process is also under consideration for companies with registrations in multiple states.
Brijesh Agrawal, chief executive of Busy Infotech, called for reducing the number of tax slabs to no more than three. There are currently six, including zero, 0.25% and 3% rates. That is his proposal, not a Council decision. Nitin Vijaivergia of Price Waterhouse & Co said unified audits could cut duplicate information requests and inconsistent findings. Final decisions will be known after the Oct. 8 meeting.