The 57th GST Council meeting has been rescheduled to October 8 from October 7, according to an office memorandum from the Council Secretariat. The meeting, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, will begin at 11 am at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.

This is the second time the meeting has been postponed. It was originally scheduled for September 12 but was deferred to October 7 because of the BRICS summit hosted by India on September 12 and 13. The latest deferral is due to unavoidable circumstances, the memorandum said.

The Council is expected to discuss sweeping process reforms, including changes to GST arrest provisions. Reports say officers’ power to arrest under Section 69 of the Central GST Act may be removed, with tax enforcement relying on civil consequences instead. Prosecution is expected to continue in serious cases.

The proposals also include raising the prosecution threshold from Rs 1 crore to Rs 5 crore and releasing 90 percent of eligible refund claims automatically after a risk check. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the next phase of GST reforms would make compliance easier for businesses.