GST Council proposes sweeping reforms to ease compliance for e-commerce sellers and small traders

The GST Council’s draft reforms under the GST 2.0 agenda aim to streamline compliance for businesses of all sizes. Small e-commerce merchants would be allowed to list the platform’s warehouse as their official address, undergo a single physical verification in their home state and then obtain GST registrations in other states with the platform’s consent, eliminating repeated interactions with tax officers. To reduce the burden of minor disputes, the Council intends to bar demand notices for claims under Rs 10,000, a threshold that covers roughly 20 % of GST cases but a negligible share of revenue, and to apply this rule retroactively to pending matters.

Larger demands would require an initial intimation, giving taxpayers a chance to respond before formal notices are issued, and standardized guidelines would govern notice drafting, hearings and decisions. The registration process would be overhauled with a guided interface, auto-population of data across states, and a quarterly payment option for consumer-facing MSMEs. Transit oversight could shift to an intelligence-driven system, limiting vehicle interceptions to authorized senior officers and reducing unnecessary border stops. The Council may also consider a flat 5 % GST on delivery charges for online purchases.