GST Council to consider decriminalisation and export relief at October 7 meeting

The 57th GST Council meeting is scheduled for October 7, 2026, with process reforms, export-related relief and faster tax refunds expected to be among the key items on the agenda.

The meeting will be the Council’s first in more than a year. According to reports citing a senior government official, there is no further exercise planned to rationalise GST rates, which have remained unchanged for nearly a year following the September 2025 overhaul.

The proposals are expected to be considered at the meeting, with no decisions announced at the time of writing.

Proposed changes to GST criminal provisions

The Council is expected to consider changes to the GST law that could remove arrest provisions, with disputes instead addressed through recovery of tax, interest and penalties.

The prosecution threshold could be increased from Rs 1 crore to Rs 5 crore. The minimum jail term may also be removed, with fines potentially available as an alternative in all cases.

Possible relief for exporters

Several proposals could change the treatment of services and supplies involving overseas entities.

For global capability centres (GCCs), the Council may consider amendments to the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) Act to allow certain services provided to overseas entities to qualify as exports. Section 13(3)(a) currently prevents many GCCs from claiming export status for services performed on goods located in India, even when consideration is received in foreign exchange. Such services are currently subject to 18% GST.

The Council may also consider treating supplies made to overseas branch offices as exports, potentially making them eligible for input tax credit (ITC), which could benefit IT and IT-enabled services companies.

Goods sold to foreign buyers but delivered to special economic zones (SEZs) could also qualify as exports if payment is received in foreign currency.

Another proposal could provide retrospective relief from a provision restricting refunds for exporters that had availed duty concessions on inputs, effectively treating the provision as though it had not applied.

Faster refunds and input tax credit measures

The proposed refund reforms would allow information already available through customs, the RBI’s export monitoring system and other government databases to be integrated directly into the refund process.

This could reduce the need for taxpayers to repeatedly upload documents for manual verification by tax officers.

Other proposals reportedly include protection for genuine buyers where suppliers default on GST payments, allowing input tax credit on employee group insurance and reviewing categories of blocked credits, including outdoor catering.

The Council may also consider changes to e-way bill rules.

Implications for shipping and logistics

For exporters and the wider logistics sector, faster refunds and clearer treatment of export transactions could improve working-capital flows.

Forwarders, exporters and logistics companies operating in international trade have also faced higher freight and insurance costs, making the speed and predictability of tax refunds an important consideration for cash-flow management.