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Moving From GST 2.0 to GST 3.0: Priorities for the 57th GST Council
M
Moneycontrol•06-10-2026, 08:28
Moving From GST 2.0 to GST 3.0: Priorities for the 57th GST Council
- •The 56th GST Council introduced major rate rationalization, marking the shift to GST 2.0, but administrative and compliance challenges remain for businesses.
- •Key operational hurdles include time-consuming registrations, prolonged refund delays affecting working capital under inverted duty structures, and complex reconciliations.
- •The upcoming 57th GST Council must transition focus to GST 3.0 by leveraging technology for automated refunds, simplified registrations, and streamlined appellate processes.
Key Questions Answered
The 57th GST Council meeting is expected to shift its focus toward administrative transformation by simplifying compliance, expediting registration approvals, and streamlining refund mechanisms for sectors facing inverted duty structures.
The 56th GST Council meeting in September 2025 delivered a major rate rationalization by replacing the previous four tax slabs with a streamlined two-tier system of 5% and 18%, alongside a 40% rate for luxury and sin goods.
While the launch of the GST Appellate Tribunal after nearly nine years is a welcome development, taxpayers have faced complex appeal filing mechanisms, cumbersome procedures, and substantial backlogs under tight prescribed deadlines.
