GST Council approves easier registration, faster refunds and flexible discount rules from November 1

Key facts

• The 57th GST Council meeting held on October 8 approved GST reforms covering registration, returns, refunds and post-supply discounts, to be implemented in phases from November 1, 2026.
• Small e-commerce sellers with input tax credit of up to Rs 2.5 lakh per month can use an e-commerce operator's warehouse as their principal place of business for GST registration in states where they lack a physical presence.
• Sellers must maintain a genuine physical presence in at least one state with Aadhaar authentication and physical verification, while registrations in other states require only the e-commerce platform's consent.
• The warehouse-based registration change is expected to benefit around 9.5 lakh small sellers and create greater tax parity between competing e-commerce business models.
• Refund claims for the full excess balance in a taxpayer's electronic cash ledger will be sanctioned automatically without tax officer approval.
• For refunds related to zero-rated supplies and inverted duty structure, 90% of the claimed amount will be provisionally sanctioned through an automated, risk-based process.
• Businesses can now offer post-supply discounts without a pre-existing agreement or invoice linkage, while credit note safeguards and input tax credit reversal requirements remain in place.