New Delhi, Oct. 4 -- The GST Council is set to consider a broad package of next-generation reforms on October 7 aimed at making tax administration simpler, reducing litigation and shifting enforcement away from coercive measures, including a proposal to remove GST officers' power to arrest and require judicial authorisation for any arrest.
The proposed enforcement changes would also raise the threshold for launching criminal prosecution from Rs 1 crore to Rs 5 crore and narrow prosecution provisions so routine disputes over classification, valuation and input tax credit do not become criminal cases. The government would retain powers to recover taxes, interest and penalties, while serious fraud and deliberate evasion could continue to be prosecuted through courts.
The wider reform package seeks to simplify GST registration and returns, speed up refunds, protect genuine buyers' input tax credit when suppliers default, and reduce low-value litigation. One proposal would bar notices where the tax demand is below Rs 10,000, covering cases that account for about 20 per cent of disputes by number but involve little revenue.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.