Members of the Karnatak Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) have welcomed the decisions taken at the GST Council meeting, chaired by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently, saying they would boost business and trade.
President Sandeep Bidasaria said the Council had rightly focused on ease of litigation and better working capital for businesses. “The decision to keep the rates unchanged and to review them once a year at a dedicated meeting will give traders and industry the stability they need for planning,” he said.
He welcomed the omission of the power of arrest under Section 69 of the CGST Act and the increase in the prosecution threshold from ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore. “The reduction of the general penalty from ₹25,000 to ₹10,000 and the minimum of ₹10,000 for issuing a show-cause notice will also relieve small businesses of avoidable disputes. The wider eligibility for refunds on input services and capital goods and the automatic provisional sanction of 90% of eligible refunds for exporters and inverted-duty cases is welcome,” he said.
The relief on the blocked input tax credit for categories such as outdoor catering, health and life insurance, telecom towers and pipelines will also lower the cost of doing business. He appreciated the waiver of late fees for small businesses with a turnover of up to ₹5 crore, provided they file taxes by the end of the month, simpler registration and amendment procedures and the optional annual return quarterly payment scheme for small B2C taxpayers, he said, according to a release.
Published - October 11, 2026 08:06 pm IST