A thumbs up to GST reforms

The Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) has welcomed the GST Council's landmark decision to rationalize GST rates and simplify the compliance framework, saying it will ease working capital constraints, lower costs for consumers, and strengthen India's competitiveness in the global MedTech sector.

- Rajiv Nath Dr Rajiv Chhibber

The 56th GST Council meeting approved a two-tier structure of 5% and 18%, with a 40% rate for sin goods, effective from September 22. The reforms also include risk-based provisional refunds, where 90% of refund claims under the inverted duty structure (IDS) will be sanctioned provisionally on similar lines as zero-rated exports. Pending legislative amendments, the CBIC will issue instructions to operationalize this measure from November 1. Additionally, the reforms aim to improve ease of compliance through faster registration w