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GST Council likely to lift prosecution threshold to ₹5 crore and ease e-commerce seller rules at October 8 meeting
The 57th GST Council, meeting on October 8, is likely to raise the prosecution threshold from ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore and set a ₹10,000 minimum for show-cause notices. It is also expected to ease registration rules for e-commerce sellers.
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What we verified
Checked against the other reports of this story.
- Prosecution threshold now: Rs 5 crore — Business Today and Times Now Business agree.
- GST Council meeting number: 57th — Business Today and Times Now Business agree.
- Prior prosecution threshold: Rs 1 crore — Business Today and Moneycontrol agree.
- General penalty recommended: ₹10,000 — Business Today and PIB India agree.
What it means for online and offline
If the October 8 meeting confirms the changes, omni-channel retailers can expect lower compliance risk from the higher prosecution threshold and the closing of pending notices, and easier registration should make it simpler to onboard small marketplace sellers, so draft the onboarding plan now but wait for the notified rules before changing anything.
Signals to track
- The Council's post-meeting statement confirming whether the ₹5 crore threshold and the nine decriminalisations passed unchanged
- Notifications or circulars setting out the e-commerce seller registration changes and their effective dates
- Evidence that the 1.23 lakh pending notices are actually being withdrawn or closed
- Marketplace announcements of seller-onboarding drives or new small-seller programmes
- Statements from state finance ministers or trade associations objecting to the package
Likely next moves
Our read of what comes next — analysis, not reported by the source.
- The GST Council is likely to approve the higher prosecution threshold and the ₹10,000 show-cause floor on October 8, with the details left to later notifications.
- Tax authorities are likely to start closing the roughly 1.23 lakh pending notices and shift enforcement attention toward larger cases above the new threshold.
- Large e-commerce marketplaces may move quickly to bring smaller sellers onto their platforms once registration rules ease.
- The 16.66 lakh small traders moved to annual returns are likely to see lower filing frequency and lower compliance cost.
- Brick-and-mortar trade bodies may press for parity if online sellers get lighter registration rules than store-based retailers.
Updates
Each later report on this story, newest first. Earlier entries are never edited; a correction is a new entry.
GST Council's 57th meeting lifts prosecution threshold to ₹5 crore, backs optional scheme for small consumer-facing firms
- Auto-approval limit on ITC passed on per month: ₹2.5 lakh
- Provisional sanction of zero-rated and inverted-duty claims: 90%
- Refund acknowledgement deadline: 10 days
GST 2.0: Council raises prosecution threshold to Rs 5 crore, eases rules for 9.5 lakh small e-commerce sellers
- E-commerce seller monthly tax liability cap: Rs 2.5 lakh
- Low-risk refund claims cleared in three days: 90%
- Small enterprises with reduced compliance: 16 lakh
GST Council raises prosecution threshold to Rs 5 crore, drops arrest power and speeds up refund acknowledgement
- Refund acknowledgement period: 10 days
- Effective domestic tax rate: 13.13%
- Growth in supplies to consumers: 26.7%
- Consumer-only taxpayers: 16.85 lakh
GST Council raises prosecution threshold to Rs 5 crore from Rs 1 crore, scraps tax officers' arrest power, eases small e-commerce norms
On the record
Earlier GST Council reports on RetailIntel, newest first.
Channel facts
Figures from Business Today
| Pending show-cause notices to be closed: | 1.23 lakh |
|---|---|
| First appeals to be closed: | nearly 11,800 |
| Small traders moved to annual return: | 16.66 lakh |
| Offences proposed for decriminalisation: | 9 |
The source
Filed
Confirmed by BL, Moneycontrol, Times Now Business, News18 Business & Auto, PIB India
First seen