New Delhi: The 57th GST Council meeting has been rescheduled to October 8 from October 7 due to unavoidable circumstances, the GST Council Secretariat said in an office memorandum. 

The meeting -- to be chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising representatives from the Centre and states -- is expected to discuss a series of process reforms aimed at making GST compliance easier for businesses and taxpayers.

Reports claim that the Council is likely to consider changes to the registration, returns and refunds mechanisms as well as reforms to resolve GST disputes and improve the flow of input tax credit with the aim of reducing the time and cost of compliance.

Moreover, the proposals are part of broader recommendations of the GST Council's Law Committee which has examined ways to simplify GST laws and distinguish between deliberate tax evasion and cases where failure to pay tax was not intentional.

Under the current GST framework, the Commissioner can authorise an arrest under Section 69 of the Central GST Act where there are reasons to believe that a person has committed specified offences under Section 132, including certain cases involving tax evasion and fraudulent input tax credit.

The Council is also expected to discuss measures aimed at making compliance easier for businesses, including e-commerce suppliers.

Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the next phase of GST reforms would make compliance easier and improve the refund process, giving businesses greater confidence to invest and expand.

Similarly, Finance Minister Sitharaman has said the next phase of GST reforms would focus on simplifying registration, returns, refunds, dispute resolution and input tax credit processes.

The GST Council meeting was originally scheduled for September 12 but was postponed to October 7 due to the BRICS summit hosted by India in New Delhi on September 12 and 13. The latest postponement is the second rescheduling of the meeting.

(IANS)