Key GST Amendments Introduced in the Finance Bill, 2026

During the 2026 Budget, the government proposed several important amendments to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) law in the Finance Bill, 2026. These proposed changes aim to simplify compliance under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The following are the amendments:

1. In clause 137 of the Finance Bill, 2026, Sub-section (3) of section 15 of the CGST Act, 2017, is being changed to remove the rule that post-sale discounts must be linked to a prior agreement. It will now instead refer to issuing a credit note under section 34 when the recipient reverses the input tax credit.

2. In clause 138 of the Finance Bill, 2026, Section 34 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, is being changed to include the reference of Section 15 in this section.

3. In clause 139 of the Finance Bill, 2026, Sub-section (6) of Section 54 of the CGST Act, 2017, is being changed to extend the provisional refunds to refunds claimed due to an inverted duty structure.

4. In clause 139 of the Finance Bill, 2026, Section 54(6) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, is being changed to remove the minimum limit required for sanction of refund claims for goods exported from India with payment of tax.

5. In clause 140 of the Finance Bill, 2026, Sub-section (1A) is being added to Section 101A of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. It allows the Central Government to temporarily authorise an existing authority or tribunal to hear appeals under Section 101B until the National Appellate Authority is formed.

It also states that when such an authority or tribunal is authorised, the rules given in sub-sections (2) to (13) will not apply to it.

These amendments will come into force from April 1, 2026.