Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 05:11pm on 08 Oct 2026,Thursday India
The 57th GST Council meeting has approved major changes aimed at making GST enforcement less punitive for taxpayers. The Council decided to remove arrest powers of GST officers and raise the threshold for launching prosecution from ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore. It also removed the mandatory minimum punishment, leaving decisions on fines or imprisonment to judicial discretion. The general penalty where no specific penalty applies has been reduced from ₹25,000 to ₹10,000. The Council also recommended that GST notices below ₹10,000 should not be issued and existing ones below that amount withdrawn. The reforms are intended to improve ease of doing business. (PC: ANI)
