- The 57th GST Council meeting is scheduled for October 8, 2026, at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.
- Proposals would remove arrest provisions and raise the prosecution threshold from one crore rupees to five crore rupees.
- A buyer could retain input tax credit with a valid invoice and proof of payment if a supplier defaults.
The 57th GST Council meeting is now scheduled for October 8, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. in the Summit Room at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. Members are expected to consider proposals on enforcement and credit rules, including decriminalisation measures and wider input tax credit eligibility.
The package under discussion would remove arrest provisions from GST law and route disputes toward recovery of tax, interest and penalties. It would also raise the prosecution threshold from ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore.
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The proposals have not been approved. They remain among the policy ideas expected to come before the Council.
A separate proposal would protect a buyer’s credit when the buyer holds a valid invoice and proof of payment, even if a supplier further up the chain defaults. Authorities would pursue recovery from the defaulter instead.
The meeting was first set for September 12, 2026, then shifted to October 7 because it clashed with the BRICS Leaders’ Summit. Officials moved it again to October 8, citing “unavoidable circumstances.”
The agenda had not been publicly finalized in the latest reporting. Expected subjects include enforcement, credit, refunds and compliance.
Criminal cases could give way to tax recovery
The proposed changes would revise how GST offences are handled. Reports describe nine offences that could be fully decriminalised and one that could be partly decriminalised. Penalties would be eased for 24 offences, while 11 would retain penalties.
The proposed enforcement shift would leave tax, interest and penalties as the focus of recovery in disputes, rather than arrest. The higher prosecution threshold would move from ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore. Both changes remain proposals for Council consideration.
Buyer credits could survive a supplier’s default
The buyer-protection proposal would allow a business to keep credit when it has documented the purchase and paid its supplier, even when another supplier in the chain fails to meet tax obligations. Recovery would be directed at the defaulting supplier.
Other proposals would expand the categories eligible for credit:
| Proposed credit category | Items identified for consideration |
|---|---|
| Employee coverage | Health and life insurance for employees |
| Vehicles and related costs | Vehicles with seating capacity up to 13 people, related insurance, servicing and leasing |
| Infrastructure | Telecom towers and pipelines laid outside factories |
| Goods | Free samples and goods destroyed on expiry where required by law |
These changes would address credit restrictions affecting insurance, vehicles, infrastructure and goods. They are part of the package under consideration, not changes already in force.
Registration and refunds remain on the agenda
The Council is also expected to consider simpler GST registration for businesses passing on tax credit above ₹2.5 lakh per month. Faster refunds and system-driven enforcement are among the other process-related proposals.
The rescheduling leaves those measures, alongside the enforcement and credit proposals, for consideration at the October 8 meeting. Businesses that pass on more than ₹2.5 lakh in tax credit per month are among those covered by the proposed registration changes.
