Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the GST Council is scheduled to meet in the first week of October, with the meeting expected to concentrate exclusively on GST process-related reforms rather than tax-rate changes.
The proposed agenda is expected to cover operational and compliance issues involving invoice filing, invoice matching and input tax credit (ITC). Sitharaman indicated that the process-reform agenda was deferred after the September Council meeting focused on GST rate rationalisation.
The Finance Minister made the remarks at a curtain-raiser event of the International Tax Research and Analysis Foundation (ITRAF) in Bengaluru. She said specific proposals would be disclosed only after they are taken up by the GST Council.
Issues such as discrepancies between buyer and seller returns and disputes concerning ITC eligibility could form part of the broader process-reform discussion, as these areas have contributed to compliance challenges and tax litigation.
Sitharaman also discussed the possibility of creating a permanent mechanism to address goods-versus-services classification issues in the digital economy, particularly for products and services such as downloads, subscriptions and cloud-based offerings. She expressed support for considering such a mechanism if a formal proposal is submitted.
The Finance Minister further highlighted recent tax-policy changes, including the reduction of the corporate tax rate to 22% in 2019, the increase in the income-tax exemption threshold to ₹12 lakh, and the replacement of the Income Tax Act, 1961, with a new statute.
She also referred to increased monetary thresholds governing tax-department appeals, including ₹60 lakh for tribunal appeals and ₹5 crore for Supreme Court appeals, which she said could help reduce prolonged litigation involving smaller tax disputes.
Sitharaman encouraged tax professionals to provide specific and quantified policy alternatives while making representations, instead of limiting submissions to general grievances or requests for lower tax rates, exemptions or concessions. CASansaar