The wait for the next GST Council meeting is getting longer as even after formation of governments in 4 States and 1 UT (with legislature), there is no clarity about when the next meeting would be scheduled.
The last GST Council meeting took place on September 3, 2025. Experts say prolonged gaps in GST Council meetings create business uncertainty and defer vital structural reforms.
Even the last Council meeting took place almost after nine months. According to the Rules for Procedure and Conduct of Business Regulations of the GST Council, it is mandated to meet at least once every quarter of the financial year. The rules also stipulate that a notice for the meeting must be dispatched at least seven days prior to the scheduled date, though an emergency meeting can be convened with two days’ notice. Typically, however, a 21-day notice period is observed.
Last meeting of council unveiled GST2.0 with rate rationalisation and measures to ease compliance including registration within 3 working days and grant of 90 per cent provisional refunds arising out of Inverted Duty structure. However, expert says post implementation of these measures, some new issues have cropped up.
“While the recent GST 2.0 rate rationalisation simplified tax slabs, it inadvertently accentuated inverted duty structures across key sectors like manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and FMCG,” said Saurabh Agarwal, Tax Partner at EY India. Further, because the current refund formula excludes input services, businesses face severe working capital blockages due to accumulated, unutilised credits—an unnecessary burden amplified by rising geopolitical fuel pressures.
“Interim reliefs in Budget 2026, such as expedited provisional refunds, are welcome, but the industry urgently requires a comprehensive legislative correction to eliminate these embedded tax costs. Additionally, allowing the aviation & tourism sector to settle reverse charge GST via accumulated credits would provide critical relief,” he said.
Pending issues
Adding to the list of pending issues, Rajat Mohan, Managing Partner at AMRG Global felt that delay is resulting in deferment of several important tax and compliance developments that businesses have been closely monitoring. “These include pending policy clarifications on interpretational and sector-specific issues, procedural simplification measures, and the pace of rollout and stabilisation of technology-driven compliance reforms such as the Invoice Management System (IMS),” he said.
While IMS is operationally driven through GSTN, significant compliance transformations tend to progress more effectively when supported by clear policy direction and institutional alignment, Mohan added.
Sudipta Bhattacharjee, Partner at Khaitan & Co, opined that delays in GST Council meetings can slow down the pace of structural reforms as well as long-awaited clarifications on various industry issues. Without timely consensus, businesses may face prolonged uncertainty on compliance and pricing, which can dampen investment sentiment - especially in the current uncertain times.
“While post GST 2.0 the GST framework is quite stable, regular GST Council meetings should be a priority to ensure quick resolution of industry-wide issues/ambiguities and certainty of tax positions which contribute significantly towards ease of doing business,” he said.
Agarwal added that prolonged gaps in GST Council meetings create business uncertainty and defer vital structural reforms. Mohan opined that extended delays in convening the GST Council can create practical bottlenecks, as several policies, procedural, and implementation matters effectively require collective consensus before moving forward.
Published on May 18, 2026