GST Council

Timeline

1. 8 Oct2026
   Economy

   GST Council removes arrest powers and lifts prosecution threshold to Rs 5 crore¹²

   The 57th GST Council recommended ending standalone arrest powers, raising the prosecution threshold from Rs 1 crore to Rs 5 crore and cutting the general penalty to Rs 10,000.

   • 57th GST Council met on 8 October 2026, chaired by Nirmala Sitharaman
   • Recommended scrapping arrest powers of GST officers
   • Prosecution threshold raised from Rs 1 crore to Rs 5 crore
   • General penalty cut from Rs 25,000 to Rs 10,000
   • Minimum punishment removed; no GST demand notice for amounts up to Rs 10,000
   • No change in GST rates
2. 1 Jul2026
   Economy

   GST Day: nine years of Goods and Services Tax³⁴

   GST was launched on 1 July 2017; 1 July 2026 marked nine years. After the 2025 reforms the structure has two main slabs of 5% and 18%, with a 40% rate on luxury and sin goods. GST collections rose from Rs 13.76 lakh crore in 2021-22 to Rs 22.27 lakh crore in 2025-26 (government factsheet).

   • GST was launched on 1 July 2017; 1 July 2026 marked nine years
   • After the 2025 reforms the structure has two main slabs of 5% and 18%, with a 40% rate on luxury and sin goods
   • GST collections rose from Rs 13.76 lakh crore in 2021-22 to Rs 22.27 lakh crore in 2025-26 (government factsheet)
   • The GST Council is established under Article 279A
3. 1 Jan2026
   Economy

   Gross GST collection for December 2025 at Rs 1.75 lakh crore⁵⁶⁷

   Gross GST collections for December 2025 were Rs 1.75 lakh crore, up 6.1 percent year on year, after the two-slab GST 2.0 rate changes took effect in September.

   • Gross GST collections for December 2025: about Rs 1.74 lakh crore (Rs 1,74,550 crore), up 6.1 percent year on year
   • Domestic revenue up 1.2 percent; import GST up 19.7 percent
   • Net GST about Rs 1.45 lakh crore, up 2.2 percent
   • Slowdown followed GST 2.0 rate cuts effective 22 September 2025

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Sources

1. Deccan Chronicle
2. Taxscan
3. Press Information Bureau
4. Business Standard
5. Outlook Business
6. ETV Bharat (PTI)
7. All India Radio