Eleven sweeping proposals to make India's goods-and-services tax regime simpler, more transparent, and friendlier to business landed on the table at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi on 8 October 2026, as the 57th GST Council — chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman — concluded its session with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis among the senior leaders present.

A voluntary scheme for small businesses — and the five-crore threshold

The headline proposal floated at the meeting targets businesses with annual turnover up to ₹5 crore that supply directly to consumers. For them, the Council has conceptually proposed a voluntary compliance scheme requiring only one annual return and quarterly tax payments — a dramatic reduction in paperwork compared to the current framework. The detailed design of this scheme will be placed before the next GST Council meeting for a final decision.

The CMO Maharashtra's official post also noted that GST Seva Kendras (service centres) will be activated to help taxpayers understand the reforms, assist with documentation, and make filings — taking the compliance machinery directly to the ground level.

Decriminalisation, lower penalties, and faster refunds

Among the most consequential of the 11 recommendations is a proposal to remove arrest provisions under GST entirely — a move that, if accepted, would fundamentally shift the law's posture from punitive to facilitative. Alongside this, the prosecution threshold has been recommended to rise sharply: from ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore, meaning businesses below that violation amount would no longer face criminal proceedings.

General penalties are also proposed to be cut — from ₹25,000 to ₹10,000. On the cash-flow side, faster refunds have been recommended specifically to improve working capital for businesses, a long-standing pain point for exporters and MSMEs alike.

Broader eligibility for ITC and streamlined registration

The Council recommended expanding eligibility for Input Tax Credit (ITC) and refunds, making the credit chain more inclusive. GST registration and compliance processes are proposed to be simplified further, with particular attention to small sellers on e-commerce platforms — a fast-growing but historically under-served segment in the GST architecture.

Recommendations also cover uniform standards for GST notices and proceedings, easier inter-state goods movement, vehicle interception based on credible intelligence rather than routine checks, and targeted measures to boost services exports.

Maharashtra's seat at the federal tax table

Chief Minister Fadnavis joined Union ministers, chief ministers and deputy chief ministers from other states, finance ministers, and senior officials at the session — underscoring how the GST Council remains one of India's most consequential federal economic bodies, where every major state effectively has a voice in reshaping national tax law. The fact that all 11 recommendations cleared the Council table signals a rare moment of cross-party, centre-state alignment on business-friendly reform.

The next GST Council meeting will be the critical checkpoint: the voluntary small-business scheme and other detailed designs come back for formal approval then. India's 14-million-plus registered taxpayers — and every small vendor listing products on an app — will be watching.