In short
The GST Council will now meet on 7 October 2026 in New Delhi instead of 12 September. Only the meeting date has moved. All GST return and payment due dates stay exactly as they are.
What happened?
The GST Council Secretariat has moved the 57th meeting of the GST Council from Saturday, 12 September 2026 to Wednesday, 7 October 2026. The meeting will take place in New Delhi from 11:00 AM under the chairpersonship of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The revised schedule came through an Office Memorandum dated 6 September 2026.
Reports link the change to India hosting the BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi on 12 and 13 September 2026. The officers’ meeting, which prepares the Council’s agenda, now takes place on 5 and 6 October 2026.
This will be the Council’s first sitting since the 56th meeting on 3 and 4 September 2025. That meeting approved the two-rate structure of 5% and 18%, with a 40% rate for select luxury and demerit goods, which has applied since 22 September 2025.
Key highlights
- New meeting date: 7 October 2026 in New Delhi, from 11:00 AM.
- Officers’ meeting: 5 October 2026 from 3:00 PM and 6 October 2026.
- Agenda not yet published: press reports point to input tax credit, refunds, the inverted duty structure and simpler registration.
- No change to compliance: GSTR-1, GSTR-3B and tax payment due dates continue as notified.
Who is affected?
- GST-registered businesses
- Proprietors & MSMEs
- Exporters & refund claimants
- CAs & tax professionals
Individual taxpayers without GST registration are not directly affected by this change.
What it means for your business
For now, nothing changes in your day-to-day GST work. Keep filing GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B and paying tax on the existing due dates.
If your business carries blocked credit, accumulated ITC from an inverted duty structure or pending refunds, use the extra weeks to put your numbers together. Any Council recommendation takes effect only after CBIC issues notifications, so you will have time to plan.
Treat forwarded messages about “decisions” before 7 October as speculation. We will update this story once the Council releases its official press note.
Source: Goods and Services Tax Council
Disclaimer: This update is for general information only and is not legal or tax advice. Rules can change after publication. Check the official notification or speak to a qualified professional before acting on it.
CA Ashish Gambhir
Chartered Accountant · Qualified 2011 · 15 years in practice · Ghaziabad, Delhi-NCR CA Ashish Gambhir is a practising Chartered Accountant and the Founder of Ampuesto Consultancy Private Limited, Ghaziabad. He qualified with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India in 2011. In 15 years of practice, he has advised more than 100 businesses across multiple sectors on direct tax, GST and corporate compliance. He writes here to translate statutory language into guidance that business owners can act on.