TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
GST @ 9 YEARS - A CRISP REPORT
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....ST @ 9 YEARS - A CRISP REPORT<br>By: - Dr. Sanjiv Agarwal <br>Goods and Services Tax - GST<br>Dated:- 9-7-2026<br>Goods and Services Tax (GST) was introduced in India from the midnight of 30th June - 1st July, 2017 and has now completed nine years of its existence in India. This is one of the major tax reforms in India so far and is the biggest ever indirect tax reform. GST has seen many ups and down in these nine years and is still considered to be a young, not so matured and yet an evolving indirect tax law in the country. Subsuming many small and big taxes in the GST, it has emerged as the biggest indirect tax law today. GST is still considered to be a tax law which can be said to be work-in-progress in terms of reforms, settlement of....
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.... law for interpretation, understanding and implementation. The main federal body, GST Council has had 56 meetings so far in these 9 years. The convening of GST Council meetings (56 in total so far) has been so unstructured and random so much so that many crucial decisions had to wait for long and even the legal requirement of holding minimum number of meetings in a year was not met . In 2026, not even a single meeting has been held so far though half of the year has gone by. The major achievement of ninth year is constitution and commencement of functioning of GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT). The year passed by saw abolition of compensation cess w.e.f. 22.09.2025 but a new cess was born - Health Security se National Security Cess w.e.f. 0....
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....1.02.2026. This piece offers a crisp recap of present status of GST as a tax law, major mile stones and interesting data around GST. It also raises signals about major challenges, strengths and opportunities GST faces or offers today. GST Council Meetings held so far Year Number of Meetings Prior to 2017 8 2017 16 2018 7 2019 7 2020 4 2021 4 2022 2 2023 4 2024 3 2025 1 2026 NIL Average GST collection higher than pre-GST period Year Tax in trillion 1 NB 2012-13 6.31 2013-14 6.79 2014-15 7.26 2015-16 8.34 2016-17 9.82 2017-18 • (broken period) 2018-19 10.98 2019-20 11.04 2020-21 10.68 2021-2....
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....2 13.00 2022-23 15.76 2023-24 18.01 2024-25 18.07 2025-2026 19.35 Tax to GDP Ratio * Year Ratio (%) 2012-13 6.34 2013-14 6.04 2014-15 5.82 2015-16 6.05 2016-17 6.38 2017-18 • (broken period) 2018-19 5.81 2019-20 5.49 2020-21 5.38 2021-22 5.51 2022-23 5.86 2023-24 5.98 2024-25 5.46 2025-26 5.42 *Pre-GST period data includes all subsumed taxes 3 phases of GST in 9 years Period Focus Key developments 2017-2020 Foundation One Nation, One Tax, E-way bill, rate corrections 2020-2023 Digital transformation E-invoicing, Aadhaar authentication, QRMP 2023-2026 Intelligent administrati....
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....on GSTAT, AI analytics, risk-based scrutiny, IMS Indirect Taxation in India- Then and Now Then Now Multiple taxation - levies and cesses GST - one nation, one tax Cascading of taxes Seamless input tax credit for all taxes Fragmented VAT principles Holistic application under GST Regional imbalances Equitable distribution of revenue Barrier to inter-state trade Seamless flow of goods No e-way bills / e-invoicing E-way bills / / e-invoicing mandatory Less revenue collection More revenue collection Manual compliances Online compliances Limited transparency Real-time invoice matching and data analytics 9 Gains • Integration of indirect taxes • Online c....
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....ompliances • Tax cascading reduced substantially • Reduced physical interface with tax department • Increased transparency in tax implementations • Reduced transaction costs and unnecessary wastages • GST Appellate Tribunal now functional • Systematic registration process • Wider tax base and higher revenue collection 9 Pains • Distorted input tax credit • Too much and too frequent compliances • Old mindset and attitude of officers • Multiple tax slabs • No credit for inverted duty cases for services • Lack of coordination between various limbs of GST Administration ....
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.... • Parallel jurisdiction • Lack of trust between tax collectors and tax payers, important pillars of economy • Too complicated and messy GSTAT portal 9 Challenges • Interpretational issues • Increased litigation and huge pendency in appeal matters setting up independent appellate forum • Alternative for compensation to states • Fake invoices menace and rampant tax evasion • Corruption • Conflicting advance rulings by State authorities • Levy of GST on petroleum products / electricity • Technical glitches in portals • Frequent Amendments and Regulatory Changes 9 Opportunities â€....
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....¢ Further comprehensive tax reforms • Integration of economy and contribution to GDP • Ease of doing business • Buoyant tax collection • Transparent, accountable and fair & just tax administration • Expansion of tax base • Increased direct & indirect employment • Change in accounting practices • AI-Driven tax administration and digital transformation of businesses 9 Suggestions - way forward • Change in attitude, mindset to be more taxpayer friendly • Practical approach to handle taxpayers / non-compliances • Make input tax credit smooth and seamless • Offer fair tax grievance redres....
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....sal mechanism • Faster and unbiased adjudication • Reduction in number of tax slabs / rates • Prioritize further reforms in GST rates and procedures • Extensive Training to Tax Administration Staff • Implement a single national audit framework by ensuring centre and state co- ordination 9 most litigated issues in GST • Fake invoices / frauds • Detention and seizure of goods and conveyances • Mis-match in GSTR-3B and GSTR-2A (Input tax credit) • Investigation and search • Arrests and Bail • Transitional credit issues • Cancellation & restoration of registration • Interpret....
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....ational issue : tax @12% or 18% • Refunds and Export-Related Issues Notifications and Circulars issued in 2025 / 2026 (18 months) (Till 30.06.2026) Particulars 2025 2026 Central Tax 20 2 Central Tax (Rate) 19 1 Integrated Tax - - Integrated Tax (Rate) 19 1 Union Territory - - Union Territory (Rate) 19 1 Compensation Cess (Rate) 3 - HSNS Cess - 3 Circulars 11 (244 to 254) 1 (255) Milestones in GST in Retrospect w.e.f. 01.07.2025-2026 Date Milestone since July, 2024 to June, 2026 01.07.2025 GST completes 8th year in India's Indirect Taxation July-December 2025 GST collections consistently crossed R....
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....s. 1.80 lakh crore in several months 04.08.2025 Appointment of Members of GSTAT 17.09.2025 Date extended for filing GSTAT appeals to 30.06.2025 22.09.2025 GST 2.0 reforms and rate rationalizations on various items 22.09.2025 Abolition of compensation cess 01.10.2025 Rollout of Invoice Management System (IMS) 01.02.2026 Health Security se National Security Cess introduced 14.05.2026 Creation of GSTAT Benches and categories thereof 27.05.2026 Validation of GST on actionable claims / online gaming by Supreme Court 17.06.2026 GSTN advisory on e-Invoice API & e-Way Bill API 30.06.2026 GSTAT appeal filing date extended to 31st July, 2026 01.07.2026 GSTN upgraded AATO Amendment func....
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....tionality 01.07.2026 GST completes 9th year in India's Indirect Taxation =============<br> Scholarly articles for knowledge sharing by authors, experts, professionals ....