GST Council to take up process reforms at October 7 meeting: FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says the GST Council will discuss e-invoicing, input tax credit rules and other process reforms during its October 7 meeting

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council’s October 7 meeting would take up process reforms under “GST 2.0”, focusing on issues related to e-invoicing and input tax credit (ITC) rules.

“Not yet at 3.0. In 2 itself we are doing it,” Sitharaman said in response to a question on whether measures such as extending e-invoicing to all taxpayers, including composition scheme dealers, and rationalising ITC provisions could form part of “GST 3.0”.

Speaking at an event organised by the International Tax Research and Analysis Foundation (ITRAF) in Bengaluru, Sitharaman said the previous GST Council meeting had focused on rate rationalisation, while process reforms had been deferred to the next meeting.

Several issues raised at the conference, she said, would be considered as part of the process-reform agenda. She also invited industry to submit specific representations on anomalies in the GST framework that the government may not have addressed.

Sitharaman also urged tax professionals, industry bodies, and researchers to move beyond seeking lower tax rates, exemptions, and concessions, and contribute more actively to evidence-based tax policy by identifying provisions that may no longer serve the tax system.