Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday welcomed the new round of GST reforms approved by the GST Council, saying the recommendations on removal of arrest provisions, greater decriminalisation and simpler procedures would have a positive impact on taxpayers and businesses and advance the government’s efforts towards a more efficient, transparent and citizen-friendly tax regime.
PM Modi posted on X:
“I welcome the new round of GST reforms approved by the GST Council.
The Council’s recommendations on removal of arrest provisions, greater decriminalisation and simpler procedures will have a very positive impact.
The focus is clear:
Faster decisions.
Lower compliance costs.
Automated refunds.
Trust-based administration.
These are in line with our constant efforts to make GST more efficient, transparent and citizen-friendly.”
I welcome the new round of GST reforms approved by the GST Council.
The Council’s recommendations on removal of arrest provisions, greater decriminalisation and simpler procedures will have a very positive impact.
The focus is clear:
Faster decisions.
Lower compliance… https://t.co/vZsPf2XAWQ
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 8, 2026
The 57th Meeting of the GST Council was held on Thursday in New Delhi under the chairpersonship of Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The GST Council recommended removal of arrest provisions under GST, raising the prosecution threshold from ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore, reducing the general penalty from ₹25,000 to ₹10,000, widening eligibility for input tax credit and refunds, and further simplifying registration and compliance processes.
It also recommended faster refunds to improve working capital for businesses, common standards for GST notices and proceedings, measures for smoother movement of goods across states, intelligence-based and authorised interception of goods, simplified GST registration for small sellers on e-commerce platforms, and measures to facilitate exports of services. The Council also approved in principle an optional scheme for small consumer-facing businesses with turnover of up to ₹5 crore.
-PIB Inputs
