GST Council meet rescheduled to October 7

The GST Council meeting, originally scheduled for September 12, has been postponed to October 7 on account of the BRICS summit.

India is hosting the annual BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13, which is expected to deliberate on a number of pressing global challenges, including the economic consequences of the West Asia crisis.

BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates, with Indonesia joining in 2025.

Sources said in view of the BRICS summit, the 57th GST Council meeting has been rescheduled for October 7. The meeting will be preceded by an officers’ meeting on October 5 and 6.

The council, chaired by Sitharaman and comprising state finance ministers, would be meeting after a gap of over a year. The 56th GST Council meeting had taken place on September 3-4, 2025, during which the Centre and states decided on a major restructuring of Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates and slabs.

Effective September 22, 2025, GST became a two-tier structure of 5 and 18 per cent, and a highest 40 per cent rate only for ultra luxury and sin goods, replacing the four slabs of 5,12, 18 and 28 per cent which was in place since July 1, 2017.

At its 57th meeting on October 7, 2026, the GST Council is likely to discuss simplification in GST registration of businesses that pass on tax credit of over Rs 2.5 lakh a month.

Also, automation and other changes in GST registration cancellation is also expected to be taken up by the council.

Currently, there is no uniformity in the procedure followed by the central GST formation and various state formations in granting GST registration to large businesses who pass on credit over Rs 2.5 lakh/month and this creates uncertainty in the minds of taxpayers.

The GST Council in its September 2025 meeting had already approved a simplified GST registration scheme for small and low-risk biz and the same was rolled out from November 1.

Small and low-risk businesses applicants whom the GST system identifies based on data analysis, or those applicants who self-assess that their output tax liability does not exceed Rs 2.5 lakh per month (inclusive of CGST, SGST/UTGST and IGST) can opt for the scheme.

About 1.68 crore businesses are currently registered under GST.