The GST Council has recommended major changes to how tax offences are punished. Here is what the 57th council meeting, held on October 8, decided.The biggest change is the removal of arrest powers. The council recommended deleting Section 69 of the CGST Act, which gave GST officers the power to arrest.

Enforcement will now focus on recovery, interest and penalties instead. A law change by Parliament is still needed to make this official.The prosecution threshold will rise from ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore. That means cases below ₹5 crore will not face criminal prosecution.

The general penalty for procedural mistakes will fall from ₹25,000 to ₹10,000, and no GST notices will be issued for amounts of ₹10,000 or less.Businesses get wider input tax credit. Employers will be able to claim credit on health and life insurance premiums for staff, which were earlier blocked. Small e-commerce sellers can register across states without offices in each state.Refunds will be faster, with 90 per cent of eligible claims released upfront after risk checks.

No GST rate changes were announced; rates will now be reviewed only once a year.