GST Council may weigh wider data sharing, rare disease tax relief on Thursday
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council will likely consider on Thursday allowing GST data to be shared with the statistics ministry for purposes including estimating trade margins, giving the government a more timely and comprehensive source of information to measure economic activity, according to three people aware of the matter.
The data may also be used by the ministry to develop an index for the unincorporated sector, calculate wholesale and retail trade margins, and build a statistical business register, the people said on condition of anonymity. The register would serve as a comprehensive database of businesses, allowing the ministry to track their size, location and activity, helping improve official economic statistics.
“The GST Council is also likely to consider a framework for sharing GST data with other ministries and departments, with different levels of approval depending on the nature of information sought. Some requests involve bulk GST data, including individually identifiable information, through regular application programming interfaces, making data access and safeguards an important part of the Council’s deliberations,” said the first of the three persons.
The data-sharing proposal assumes significance as any such move could take the GST data beyond its traditional role for tax administration and make it a regular input for official economic statistics.
The 57th meeting of the GST Council, headed by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, will take place on Thursday.Full access soughtThe ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI), the people said, has sought full access to the GST datasets, or an appropriate data-sharing mechanism, including information from GSTR-3B and GSTR-9. For estimating trade margins, it has also sought monthly data on outward supplies, supplies liable to reverse charge and eligible input tax credit.GSTR-3B refers to a regular GST return in which businesses report their sales, purchases, tax liability and input tax credit, while GSTR-9 refers to the annual GST return that summarises a business’s sales, purchases, tax and input tax credit for the year.
The council may also consider allowing refunds of taxes embedded in plant and machinery and input services under the inverted duty structure through a graded mechanism over five years. This is particularly relevant for industries where input taxes are higher than the GST rate on finished products, leading to accumulation of input tax credit.“The next generation of GST reforms should seek to make the tax framework simpler not only for consumers, but also for businesses operating across India. These measures can make GST more competitive, predictable and aligned with the needs of a growing economy,” said Sameer Gupta, national tax leader, EY India.
Rare diseases
The other important proposal that the GST Council may consider is expanding the list of rare diseases for which imported drugs, medicines and specialised foods for personal use are exempt from integrated goods and services tax (IGST), said the second person.
Seven rare genetic diseases could be added to the list, said this person. These include congenital hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia, familial homozygous hypercholesterolemia, alpha mannosidosis, primary hyperoxaluria, cystinosis, hereditary angioedema and primary immune deficiency disorders. Imports of medicines for these diseases currently attract IGST of up to 18%, experts said.
According to experts, the proposal would lower the tax cost for patients who have to depend on imported therapies and specialised foods, particularly where treatments are expensive and have limited domestic availability. The move follows the government’s decision in the Union Budget to remove basic customs duty on drugs, medicines and food for special medical purposes for these seven diseases.
The GST Council may also consider a tighter timeline for releasing provisional refunds to exporters, with 90% of eligible claims potentially released within 7–10 days after risk-based checks.
“Under the proposed mechanism, a refund application would have to be acknowledged within 10 days. If the tax officer does not act within that period, the application could be deemed to have been acknowledged,” said the third person. “Once the claim clears a risk assessment, as much as 90% of the eligible amount could be released provisionally, with the balance paid after verification,” this person said.
Queries sent on Monday to the spokespersons of the finance ministry and GST Secretariat remained unanswered till press time.
Tracking benefit to consumers
The council is also likely to take stock of the benefits passed on to consumers following the GST rate rationalisation last year. A March 2026 study by National Institute of Public Finance and Policy found mixed evidence on the transmission of GST cuts to consumers.
Following the GST 2.0 reforms last year, the previous four-slab structure was replaced with a simplified framework of 5%, 18% and a special 40% demerit rate.
The study noted that the average CPI (consumer price index) for medicines increased from 103.86 in May-August 2025 to 104.26 in October 2025-January 2026, despite many medicines moving into the exempt or 5% GST categories.
Vivek Jalan, partner at Tax Connect Advisory Services, suggested that the reforms should encourage early dispute resolution, reduce the litigation burden on taxpayers and authorities, improve ease of doing business and enhance voluntary compliance.
“If a taxpayer voluntarily settles a dispute instead of pursuing prolonged litigation, the amount paid should be treated as a charge rather than a penalty. Such an approach could encourage early dispute resolution, reduce the litigation burden on taxpayers and tax authorities, improve ease of doing business and strengthen voluntary compliance,” said Jalan.
