The GST Council has approved major reforms to speed up refunds and ease compliance for businesses. According to Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, Chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), identified and risk-evaluated taxpayers will now be able to receive GST refunds within seven days—without any officer’s intervention.

Speaking to IANS, Agarwal explained that since exports are treated as zero-rated supplies under GST, exporters typically claim refunds of accumulated input tax credit (ITC). “Under the new framework, refunds for such taxpayers can be processed automatically within a week,” he said.

Agarwal also highlighted that the GST registration process has been further simplified, particularly for small businesses and low-risk applicants. Companies estimating an input tax credit of less than Rs 2.5 lakh can now opt for a simplified registration, which will be granted automatically within three working days. Businesses can later shift to normal registration as they grow, based on risk analysis.

The Centre has also rationalised GST rates, scrapping the 12 percent and 28 percent slabs while retaining the 5 percent and 18 percent slabs to make the tax structure simpler.

In another major relief for e-commerce exporters, the GST Council has approved the Directorate General of Foreign Trade’s (DGFT) proposal to eliminate the value threshold for GST refunds on low-value consignments. Once the CGST Act, 2017, is amended, exporters will be able to claim refunds on shipments with payment of tax, regardless of the consignment value.

This long-awaited move is expected to greatly benefit small exporters, especially those using courier or postal channels, by simplifying procedures and boosting low-value e-commerce exports, the Commerce Ministry said.