GST Council recommends no GST demand notice where the tax involved is below Rs 10,000
At its 57th meeting on 8 October 2026 the GST Council recommended a Rs 10,000 minimum tax amount for GST show-cause notices, including for pending notices. It is a recommendation; law amendments are still needed.
The GST Council has recommended that tax officers should not issue a show-cause notice, which is the formal notice that a GST demand is being made, where the tax involved is less than Rs 10,000. It is a recommendation made at the Council’s 57th meeting on 8 October 2026, not yet a rule. The Ministry of Finance said it would take effect only through circulars, notifications and law amendments, and the release gives no start date for this measure.
GST (goods and services tax) is the tax charged on most goods and services in India. The Council is the body of the Union and state finance ministers that makes recommendations on it. The notices concerned are those a tax officer sends to a person or business that the department says owes GST, under sections 73, 74 and 74A of the Central GST (CGST) Act, 2017.
What the Council recommended
| Item | Detail in the Ministry of Finance release |
|---|---|
| Minimum amount | Rs 10,000 of tax (CGST + SGST + IGST + cess) for a show-cause notice to be issued |
| What follows | No notice is to be issued if the tax involved is less than Rs 10,000 |
| Pending cases | A statutory provision so that notices and appeals involving less than Rs 10,000 that are pending when the threshold comes into force are decided as if the threshold had applied when the notice was issued |
| How it is made law | Amendment of sections 73, 74 and 74A of the CGST Act, 2017 |
How the Rs 10,000 is counted
The GST Council’s FAQ on the 57th meeting says:
- If the tax is exactly Rs 10,000, the minimum is met and a notice may be issued.
- The amount is the combined tax under CGST, SGST/UTGST, IGST and cess. Each tax head does not have to reach Rs 10,000 separately.
- Interest, late fee and penalty are not counted. Only the tax, including cess, is.
- Tax relating to input tax credit (the credit a business claims for tax already paid on its purchases) that was wrongly claimed or used also counts, added up across tax heads.
Stage and what is not yet decided
The release says the recommendations are presented in simple language and will be given effect through circulars, notifications and law amendments, “which alone shall have the force of law”. It does not state a date from which the Rs 10,000 minimum would apply. The same part of the release also recommends other changes to GST notices and penalties, including a lower maximum general penalty (from Rs 25,000 to Rs 10,000) and a circular of guidelines for officers on issuing demand notices.
Basis of these figures
All amounts, sections and conditions are from the Ministry of Finance (PIB) release “Recommendations of the 57th Meeting of the GST Council”, posted 8 October 2026, paragraph 7.2, and from the GST Council’s FAQ document on the same meeting. Both were opened and read. Taxscan’s report was used only to cross-check. This article reports the recommendation and does not say how it may affect any particular taxpayer.