New Delhi, October 8 (Daily Kiran) : Central Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will chair the 57th meeting of the GST Council on Thursday in New Delhi. This gathering of representatives from the central and state governments is crucial for discussing the next phase of reforms in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) system.
Originally scheduled for Wednesday, the meeting was postponed by a day due to unavoidable circumstances, as confirmed by the GST Council Secretariat.
Sources indicate that the council may discuss several procedural reforms aimed at simplifying GST compliance. Proposed changes include streamlining registration, return filing, refund processes, dispute resolution mechanisms, and rules related to Input Tax Credit (ITC).
These reforms aim to reduce the time and costs associated with compliance for taxpayers and businesses. Additionally, steps may be taken to enhance transparency and user-friendliness in tax administration.
The council is also expected to consider recommendations from its Law Committee regarding the simplification of GST laws. The committee has suggested differentiating between cases of deliberate tax evasion and those involving unintentional delays or reductions in tax payments.
Under the current framework, the Commissioner has the authority to permit arrests in certain cases under Section 69 of the CGST Act if there is a belief that serious offenses, as outlined in Section 132, have occurred, including tax evasion and fraudulent ITC claims.
The meeting will likely address measures to ease compliance processes for e-commerce businesses and small enterprises as well.
Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that the next phase of GST reforms will simplify compliance and improve the refund process, instilling greater confidence in industries for investment and expansion.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has also emphasized that the primary focus of the upcoming GST reforms will be to simplify processes related to registration, returns, refunds, dispute resolution, and ITC.
Notably, this meeting was initially planned for September 12 but was postponed due to the BRICS summit hosted by India.
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