GST Appellate Tribunal filing deadlines extended, with transitional cut-offs based on communication and passing of orders.
The filing period for appeals and applications before the GST Appellate Tribunal is extended up to 31 July 2026. Appeals in cases where the order is communicated before 1 May 2026 may be filed by that extended date, while appeals for later communications remain subject to the prescribed three-month period from communication of the order. Applications in cases where the order is passed before 1 February 2026 may be filed by 31 July 2026, while later orders remain subject to the prescribed six-month period from the date of passing.

Principal Bench jurisdiction: appeals with identical questions or specified IGST and CGST issues to be heard exclusively.
Notification requires exclusive hearing by the Principal Bench for appeals: (i) pending before two or more State Benches where the President is satisfied an identical question of law is involved; (ii) involving one or more issues covered by specified provisions of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act; and (iii) involving one or more issues covered by specified provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, pursuant to the third proviso to subsection (5) of section 109 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act.

Exemption from annual GST return filing for small taxpayers below the turnover threshold reduces compliance from the specified financial year.
Exemption from filing the annual GST return is granted to registered persons whose aggregate turnover does not exceed two crore rupees, applying to the financial year 2024-25 and onwards. The exemption is effected under the first proviso to section 44(1) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act and was notified by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs in Notification No. 15/2025 - Central Tax dated 17 September 2025, following the Commissioner's action on the Council's recommendations.

Restriction on provisional refunds: Aadhaar-unverified taxpayers and suppliers of specified goods barred from provisional GST refunds.
Restriction under Section 54(6) CGST disqualifies registered persons from provisional refund if they have not undergone Aadhaar authentication under rule 10B or if they supply goods specified in the Table (areca nuts; pan masala; tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes; essential oils). The notification instructs that tariff item, heading, sub heading and Chapter bear the meanings in the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, and that the Schedule's interpretation rules and notes apply for construing the notification. A commencement provision makes the restriction operative from the stated commencement date.

Late fee waiver for delayed GST reconciliation: excess fees waived if reconciliation statement filed by the specified cutoff.
Waiver of excess late fees under section 47 is provided where registered persons who were required to furnish reconciliation statement in FORM GSTR-9C with the annual return in FORM GSTR-9 failed to submit it with the return but subsequently furnish FORM GSTR-9C on or before the prescribed cutoff; no refund is available for late fees already paid for delayed furnishing of FORM GSTR-9C.

Late fee waiver for delayed GST TDS returns ensures limited recoverable levy and full waiver for nil tax months.
A waiver of late fee is provided for registered persons required to deduct tax at source who failed to furnish FORM GSTR-7 for June 2021 onwards; amounts of late fee in excess of a nominal per day sum are waived subject to an overall per return cap, and total late fee is fully waived where the total tax deducted at source in the month is nil. The waiver supersedes the earlier June 2021 notification and takes effect from the stated commencement date.

Rectification of input tax credit orders: eligible taxpayers may apply electronically for a special rectification procedure within prescribed time.
A special rectification procedure allows eligible registered persons, who have no pending appeal, to apply electronically within six months for rectification of orders confirming demand for wrongly availed input tax credit where that credit is now allowable under later provisions. The original ordering authority will decide the application and issue a rectified order preferably within three months and must upload a summary in the prescribed form. Rectification is confined to the demand components now eligible, and natural justice must be followed if rectification adversely affects the applicant; Annexure A disclosures and verification are required.

Waiver of interest and penalties: payment deadlines set for registered persons to secure waiver eligibility under GST rule.
Notification designates cutoff dates for specified classes of registered persons to make tax payments to qualify for a waiver of interest and penalties under section 128A, setting a uniform deadline for persons issued notices, statements or orders, and a separate period tied to the date of the proper officer's redetermination order where tax is reassessed following appellate direction. The notification comes into effect from the stated commencement date.

Input Tax Credit examination halted: authority will stop accepting requests to probe price commensurability following tax rate changes.
The Central Government, on the recommendations of the GST Council and under the proviso to sub section (2) of section 171 CGST Act, has appointed 1st April 2025 as the date from which the authority referred to in that section shall not accept any request for examination whether input tax credits availed or a reduction in the tax rate have resulted in a commensurate reduction in the price of goods or services; the notification comes into force on publication in the Official Gazette.

Anti profiteering: Principal Bench authorised to assess whether tax credits or rate cuts reduced consumer prices.
Authorises the Principal Bench of the Appellate Tribunal to determine whether input tax credits availed by a registered person or a reduction in the tax rate have resulted in a commensurate reduction in the price of goods or services, pursuant to recommendations of the GST Council and under the statutory powers conferred on the Central Government and the Tribunal; the notification also specifies its commencement date.

Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal establishment confirms bench locations and district jurisdictions across states and union territories.
Establishes the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal with effect from 1 September 2023, constituting a Principal Bench at New Delhi and specified State Benches at named locations, and notifies the districts forming the jurisdiction of each bench and its sitting or circuit arrangements, with circuit locations to be operational as ordered by the President and additional sittings to be staffed by one Judicial Member and one Technical Member.

Exemption from annual return filing granted for small-turnover registered persons based on Commissioner authority and Council recommendation.
Exemption from filing an annual return is provided for registered persons whose aggregate turnover in the specified financial year does not exceed a prescribed turnover threshold, issued by the Commissioner under the statutory proviso on the recommendation of the GST Council, relieving qualifying registered persons of the annual return filing requirement for that period.

Consent-based information sharing via Public Tech Platform for Frictionless Credit enabled under GST framework to facilitate digital credit data exchange.
Notification designates Public Tech Platform for Frictionless Credit as the system with which the common portal may share information on the basis of consent under the GST framework, and defines the platform as an enterprise-grade open-architecture IT platform with standard protocol-driven architecture and an open, shared API framework to enable convergence of financial service providers and multiple data sources for a digital credit ecosystem.

Packing machine registration requirement mandates machine details, monthly production reports and engineer certification under the special GST procedure.
A special GST procedure obliges registered manufacturers of listed pan masala and tobacco goods to file machine-specific details in FORM GST SRM-I on the common portal, obtain autogenerated machine registration numbers, report additions, amendments and disposals within prescribed short timelines, and furnish machine capacity declarations and prior departmental submissions. The regime also requires monthly submission of production, input consumption and power usage in FORM GST SRM-II and upload of a Chartered Engineer certificate in FORM GST SRM-III for declared or amended machines.

Constitution of Principal Bench: GST appellate tribunal bench established effective from notification publication on Council recommendation.
The Central Government, on the recommendation of the Goods and Services Tax Council and under section 109(3) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, constitutes the Principal Bench of the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal at New Delhi with effect from the date of publication of the notification, and supersedes the earlier notification S.O.1359(E) except as to prior actions or omissions.

Extension of limitation period for issuance of recovery orders under section 73 allows later recovery action for specified years.
The Government extends the time limit for issuance of orders for recovery of tax not paid or short paid, or of input tax credit wrongly availed or utilized, by partially modifying prior Central Tax notifications: for the financial year 2018-19 up to 30th April, 2024, and for the financial year 2019-20 up to 31st August, 2024.

Appeal Amnesty under GST allows late appeals if prescribed payments are made and FORM GST APL-01 is filed.
Notification permits time barred GST appeals to be filed in FORM GST APL-01 subject to payment conditions: full payment of amounts admitted plus a prescribed percentage of the disputed tax (capped), with a minimum portion debited from the Electronic Cash Ledger; refunds of excess payments are barred until appeal disposal and standard appeal procedures apply mutatis mutandis.

Tribunal appointments and service conditions govern eligibility, selection procedure, removal inquiry, remuneration and post service restrictions.
The rules set appointment and service conditions for the President and Members of the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal, delegating selection to a Search cum Selection Committee that issues vacancy circulars, scrutinises applications, conducts personal interactions and recommends panels. They require medical fitness and retirement from prior posts, prescribe an inquiry procedure for complaints with judicial inquiry authorities, fix salaries and allowances while excluding pension and gratuity, specify leave and post service employment restrictions, mandate asset and interest declarations and oaths, and empower the Central Government to relax or interpret provisions.

Supply of online gaming and actionable casino claims notified under section 15(5), effective 1 Oct 2023.
Notification under sub section (5) of section 15 CGST Act notifies the supply of online money gaming, supply of online gaming other than online money gaming, and supply of actionable claims in casinos for valuation under that sub section; it also lists certain packaged tobacco and nicotine products for valuation by declared retail sale price, defines "retail sale price" rules and applies Customs Tariff interpretive principles.

Tax collection at source: ecommerce operators must enroll exempt sellers, block inter state sales, and report supplies.
Electronic commerce operators required to collect tax at source under section 52 must allow supplies by exempted persons only if an enrolment number is allotted on the common portal; must not allow any inter State supply by such persons; must not collect tax at source under section 52 in respect of such supplies; and must furnish details of those supplies in FORM GSTR 8. Where more than one operator is involved, the operator who finally releases payment to the exempt supplier is treated as the electronic commerce operator for these obligations. The procedure is effective from 1 October 2023.