GST reforms 2026: Govt plans faceless, centralised CGST system for 2 lakh multi-jurisdiction taxpayers
Oct 9, 2026
Synopsis
GST reforms 2026 will move around 2 lakh businesses operating across multiple CGST jurisdictions towards a centralised, faceless tax administration, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. The framework will cover scrutiny, audits, adjudication, appeals and taxpayer services, with public consultation planned before Budget 2027 and implementation targeted for FY28.
The government plans to move the central GST (CGST) administration towards a faceless, centralised model, creating a unified window for businesses that currently deal with multiple CGST jurisdictions, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday.
The proposed faceless framework is expected to reduce physical interaction between taxpayers and tax officials and make case allocation less dependent on local jurisdictions. The proposed system, modelled on the experience of faceless administration in income tax, will cover about 200,000 taxpayers operating under multiple CGST jurisdictions, either within a state or across states.
"Going forward, we intend to bring a centralised tax administration for these multiple CGST jurisdiction taxpayers," Sitharaman said at a press conference after the 57th GST Council meeting.
The finance minister clarified that the faceless CGST initiative was not part of the GST Council's formal agenda but a separate central government administrative reform. The government has not yet specified the exact timeline and details, she said, adding that it will first frame the architecture for the new system and put it out for public consultation before the next budget, with implementation planned in the next financial year.
"A framework will be finalised and put up for public consultation before the budget next year and will be implemented during the next financial year 27-28," Sitharaman said.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has started work on the framework.
Chairman Vivek Chaturvedi said the faceless assessment framework will be put up for public consultation by the end of this year.
Around 6.95 million taxpayers are exclusively under CGST jurisdiction, according to Sitharaman. Of these, roughly 200,000 fall under multiple CGST jurisdictions.
Sitharaman said the government intends to bring these taxpayers under a centralised administration, covering scrutiny of returns, audit, adjudication, appeals, taxpayer services and grievance redressal.
[The Economic Times]
