New Delhi, Oct. 12 -- The 57th meeting of the GST Council has recommended a major procedural overhaul of the nine-year-old indirect tax regime, focusing on faster refunds, simpler compliance and reduced discretionary powers of tax officials, while leaving tax rates unchanged. Mint explains whether these changes take the nation closer to an ideal goods and services tax (GST) regime.

The recent reforms have addressed three persistent concerns: blocked working capital, tax costs and compliance burdens. The council has recommended automated refunds of excess balances in electronic cash ledgers and provisional release of 90% of eligible refund claims arising from exports and inverted duty structures after risk assessment. The deadline for ack...