57th GST Council meeting on or before 31/08/2026 please.

The 56th GST Council meeting was held on 03/09/2025 and as on 19/07/2026, no news is available on the probable date as well as venue of the next GST Council meeting, though unofficial message is that place is Kolkata and date is end of August 2026. This in case happens so, the time gap between two successive council meeting shall be kept as less than one year. The Council which met so frequently in the past has stopped conducting meetings as frequently as required as of now. The following table exhibits the intrinsic position.

Perhaps the GST Council may be of the view that consequent to the 56th meeting bringing in rate rationalization as well as setting up of benches of GSTAT, most of the issues are resolved. Hence, it is pertinent to list down the challenges the taxpayers are facing in the 10th year of GST despite availability of the so called efficacious alternate remedy.

Issue 1: Rationalization of GST issues on real estate sector: On the one hand the Government amends section 17 (5) (d) retrospectively with effect from 01/07/2017 despite the earlier commitment that there would not be any retrospective amendments in GST in the parliament by the then finance minister only to plug ITC of thousands of crores per annum due to which litigation also goes up and cost of housing as well as rent on housing goes up significantly. On the other hand, PIB release dated 13/02/2026 reads as 'Housing constitutes a critical determinant of dignity, safety, and economic participation among low-income households. Implemented since April 2016, the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) aims to achieve the objective of Housing for All by 2029 by providing pucca dwellings with basic amenities to eligible rural households. Against an overall target of 4.95 crore houses, 4.14 crore units have been allocated to States and Union Territories, of which 3.86 crore have been sanctioned and 2.93 crore completed to date. In addition, 76.98 lakh dwelling units pending from earlier housing schemes have been completed, bringing the total number of rural houses constructed over the past 11 years to 3.70 crore. Reflecting the heightened policy emphasis on rural housing, budgetary allocations for PMAY-G increased from Rs. 15,000 crore in 2016-17 to Rs. 54,916.70 crore in 2026-27'.

Comments: It is the most appropriate time for the GST Council to discuss the possibilities of omitting clause d of sub-section 5 of section 17 of the CGST act with effect from 01/04/2027 itself. This shall automatically bring down the cost of affordable housing and the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (PMAY) may also be suitably modified.

Issue 2: The limits set for GST registration for supplier of services, suppliers of goods as well as for composition scheme were set during initial period of GST. As we are in the 10th year, this year is the most appropriate year to revisit the limits.

Comments: This shall greatly improve the GST collections as focus would shift from quantity of cases to quality of cases. The poor quality of adjudication process is to be improved at once which is brought in to limelight by jurisdictional high courts by quashing 1000s of adjudication as well as first appeal orders through writs. The GST officials shall also be relieved from the burden of collecting small GST from Crores of taxpayers to collecting huge GST from lakhs of taxpayers which shall also improve the quantum of GST Collection.

Issue 3: Concurrent jurisdiction is a burden on both the taxpayer as well as tax administrators as this merely happens to be duplication of the same work.

Comments: GST Council may bring in appropriate amendment to ensure that neither the taxpayer is left free nor the Government under whom the taxpayer is registered is not burdened with work. To put it simple, any intelligence either from State or Centre when get some inputs, if the taxpayer is under their jurisdiction proceed with inspection or audit and if the taxpayer is with other Government, may share all inputs to the appropriate Government to start proceedings.

Issue 4: In case there are no stipulations as on date on the number of GST Council meetings to be conducted during one financial year, it may be fixed as 4 per financial year. In case such stipulation is already available, strictly adhere to that stipulation.

Comments: As per the information which is available on GST council portal itself, there was a proposal to conduct one council meeting every quarter and a minimum of four meetings in any one financial year. In case it was approved, then GST Council itself has violated the guidelines. In case that stipulation was not made operational, it must be made operational at least in the ensuing 57th council meeting.

Conclusion: The author appreciates the challenges the tax administrators face and so far as the first nine years are concerned, things are acceptable. Being in the 10th year, we can not afford to continue without implementing the lessons learnt during initial nine years in to fruitful rectifications to ensure fast and smooth movement of the journey of GST law in India in the years to come.