GST on life and health insurance: GoM to review treatment while multiple GST rate and compliance changes are recommended.
Council recommended formation of GoMs to review GST on life and health insurance and the compensation cess; reduced GST on specified cancer drugs and on certain extruded savoury products; prospective reclassification and rate alignment for certain car seats and railway roof mounted AC units; introduction of RCM and TDS measures for metal scrap and RCM for renting of commercial property; exemption for specified R&D services by government or notified institutions funded by grants; a voluntary B2C e invoicing pilot; and procedural reforms including new ledgers, an Invoice Management System and amendments to refund and input tax credit rules.

Biometric Aadhaar Authentication required for GST registration applicants; appointment or OTP pathways determine completion and verification process.
An amendment implements Aadhaar-based biometric authentication and in-person document verification for GST registration: applicants receive either an OTP-based Aadhaar authentication link or an appointment-booking link to visit a designated GST Suvidha Kendra with appointment confirmation, jurisdiction details, original Aadhaar and PAN, and original uploaded documents; biometric authentication and verification at the GSK for individuals named in Form GST REG-01 must be completed before ARNs are generated.

Invoice-wise reporting threshold reduced; continue existing reporting practice for higher-value supplies until portal functionality is deployed.
The Central Tax notification reduces the invoice-wise reporting threshold for inter-state taxable outward supplies to unregistered dealers, mandating reporting in GSTR-1 Table 5 and GSTR-5 Table 6. Portal changes to implement the new threshold are under development; meanwhile, taxpayers should continue to report invoice-wise details for supplies exceeding the previous threshold in the existing tables of GSTR-1 and GSTR-5 until the portal is updated.

Invoice acceptance under IMS determines ITC entitlement: recipients accept, reject or pend supplier invoices affecting GSTR 2B.
The Invoice Management System (IMS) enables recipients to accept, reject or keep supplier invoices pending on the GST portal; invoices not acted upon are deemed accepted and included in GSTR 2B as eligible ITC. Supplier saved outward supplies populate the recipient's IMS dashboard and amended invoices replace originals. Draft GSTR 2B is generated based on supplier filings and recipient actions, requires recomputation if actions change after draft generation, and finalization is constrained by filing of GSTR 3B. Rejected records are excluded from GSTR 2B and can affect supplier liability in a subsequent period.

GST revenue collections: provisional gross receipts minus refunds yield higher net receipts and state settlements.
Provisional GST receipts for August 2024 distinguish gross domestic and import GST components and subtract domestic and export refunds to produce net domestic, net IGST and total net GST revenue; state level settlement is shown by pre and post settlement SGST figures reflecting SGST plus the SGST share of IGST settled to States/UTs, with a state wise breakdown and a note that figures are provisional and subject to finalisation.

Biometric Aadhaar Authentication enabled for GST registration applicants; appointment booking directs applicants to GST Suvidha Kendras for verification.
After submission of Form GST REG-01 applicants will receive either an OTP-based Aadhaar Authentication link or a link to book an appointment at a designated GST Suvidha Kendra for Biometric-based Aadhaar Authentication and document verification. Applicants who book must attend the GSK with the appointment confirmation, jurisdiction details, original Aadhaar and PAN, and the original documents uploaded with the application. Biometric authentication and document verification will be completed for all required individuals, and ARNs will be generated only after those processes are successfully completed.

Reverse charge mechanism reporting: new statement requires matching RCM liability and ITC reporting and opening balance reconciliation.
A new RCM Liability/ITC Statement on the GST Portal requires reporting of RCM liabilities from Table 3.1(d) of GSTR-3B and corresponding ITC from Table 4A(2) and 4A(3) of GSTR-3B for each return period. Taxpayers must report an opening balance reflecting excess paid liability (positive) or excess claimed ITC (negative). RCM ITC reversals previously recorded in Table 4(B)2 may be reclaimed only through Table 4A(5) and are not to be included in the opening balance. Deadlines and a limited amendment window for declaring and rectifying opening balances are prescribed.

Bank account requirement blocks GSTR-1 and IFF filing until taxpayers add valid account details in their GST registration.
A bank account requirement mandates taxpayers to furnish a valid bank account in GST registration before submitting outward supply details in FORM GSTR-1 or via the Invoice Furnishing Facility; failure to add such details will prevent filing GSTR-1 or IFF from the August 2024 return period, and taxpayers must amend registration via Services > Registration > Amendment of Registration > Non Core Fields on the GST Portal.

Tax compliance innovation through predictive analytics: GSTN launches a 45 day hackathon for Indian academics and professionals.
GSTN is launching a 45 day GST Analytics Hackathon inviting Indian nationals affiliated with academic institutions or business organisations to develop predictive-analytics prototypes for a GST analytics framework using provided data sets and competition guidelines. Eligible participants must register via the official event portal, submit reproducible prototype solutions within the event window, and will be evaluated for multiple prizes including a special award for the best all women team.

Fake registration enforcement: coordinated drive targets fraudulent GST registrants and masterminds with tech-enabled tracking and interagency coordination.
A coordinated two month special drive by Central and State GST formations targets fake registrations and contrived Input Tax Credit schemes using risk based identification, technological support from GSTN, and interagency verification to apprehend masterminds and beneficiaries. The initiative prioritises substantive evasion over interpretative disputes, seeks to balance enforcement with ease of doing business, and promotes case tracking, uniform best practices, and a proposed national register for real time enforcement information sharing.

TCS rate change: reduced rate applies from mid July; taxpayers must update systems and ensure correct GSTR 8 reporting.
The advisory notifies a reduction in the TCS rate effective from 10 July 2024 and instructs taxpayers to collect and report TCS at the rate applicable to the transaction date; transactions before that date remain subject to the prior rate. Taxpayers must update systems and processes to apply the revised rate for transactions on or after the effective date. GSTN will implement system changes to address GSTR 8 validation errors and expects filing to resume from 6 August 2024 midnight.

GST revenue collections published: approved monthly gross and net data released online for public access.
GST revenue collections for the month of July 2024 have been published as approved monthly data presenting both gross and net receipts, with a direct link to the PDF providing the detailed figures and dataset for public access.

Biometric-based Aadhaar Authentication now required for GST registration applicants; appointment-based GSK verification and document checks follow.
The Rule 8 amendment enables identification via data analysis and risk parameters using Biometric-based Aadhaar Authentication, photograph capture and original document verification; after filing Form GST REG-01 applicants receive either an OTP-based Aadhaar authentication link or a link to book an appointment at a designated GST Suvidha Kendra for biometric authentication and document verification, with ARNs generated after completion of biometric authentication and verification.

Optional correction window GSTR-1A lets taxpayers amend outward supplies before filing the corresponding GSTR-3B return.
Form GSTR-1A is an optional correction facility for taxpayers to add, amend or rectify particulars of outward supplies reported or missed in the current tax period's GSTR-1, usable only before filing the corresponding GSTR-3B; it opens after filing GSTR-1 or after the due date for GSTR-1, whichever is later.

Fake Input Tax Credit detection triggers strengthened registration, verification and e-invoice controls to curb fraud.
Central tax authorities detected widespread fake Input Tax Credit (ITC) cases with increased detections, voluntary deposits and arrests. To address ITC fraud the Government implemented risk-based Aadhaar authentication, mandatory physical verification in high-risk cases, bank-account KYC linkage to PAN/Aadhaar, restriction of ITC to supplier-reported invoices, mandatory sequential filing of GSTR-1 before GSTR-3B, liability for beneficial owners, provisional attachment powers, e-way bill and e-invoice compliance tightening, and routine data-analytics monitoring.

GST revenue collections released; gross and net figures published and made available via the official revenue report link.
Announcement that detailed gross and net GST revenue figures for the specified month have been published and made available via an online revenue report link, serving as public disclosure of aggregate GST receipts.

Biometric-based Aadhaar Authentication enabled for GST registration, requiring GSK appointment and in-person document verification before ARN issuance.
Amendment introduces Biometric-based Aadhaar Authentication and in-person document verification for GST registration via GSTN. After submitting Form GST REG-01 an applicant receives either an OTP-based Aadhaar link or a GSK appointment link; OTP-linked applicants follow the existing online process, while GSK-linked applicants must book and attend an appointment with specified originals and the appointment confirmation. ARN generation is triggered only after biometric authentication and document verification are completed.

Optional amendment facility enables suppliers to correct current-period invoice details before liability is finalised in GSTR-3B.
FORM GSTR-1A is an optional amendment facility allowing a single amendment per tax period to add or correct supplies reported in FORM GSTR-1 before filing the corresponding FORM GSTR-3B. Amendments via GSTR-1A adjust the taxpayer's liability in FORM GSTR-3B and make recipient ITC available in FORM GSTR-2B for the next period. Monthly and QRMP quarterly filers have defined portal windows for GSTR-1A availability tied to FORM GSTR-1 filing and remain open until filing of the corresponding FORM GSTR-3B; GSTIN recipient corrections require subsequent-period rectification in FORM GSTR-1.

Refund procedure for Canteen Store Department: online RFD-10A filing requires sequential period claims and NIL filings.
An online GST portal facility enables Canteen Stores Department to file FORM GST RFD-10A refunds for inward supplies by selecting the CSD refund category, choosing the From/To period, uploading invoice details in the Statement, validating and entering IGST/CGST/SGST refund amounts, and selecting the bank account for disbursement. Applications must be saved/previewed and can be edited only before final submission; the system prevents changes after Submit. Refund filings must be sequential by tax period and intervening periods without claims require filing NIL refund claims; Select Period on the portal is available from July 2017.

Interoperability of e invoice portals enables shared credentials, API token reuse, and cross-portal e invoice operations for continuity.
Integration enables interoperability of NIC-IRP e-invoice portals so taxpayers may use the same login and API token for e-invoice and e-waybill services, perform cross-portal printing, downloading and cancellation, and rely on one portal as a fallback when the other is non-operational. Taxpayers must test APIs in the sandbox and similar services are available on additional IRP portals.