Taxation & GST (Fiscal Policy & Budget).
Syllabus: UPSC Pre GS1: Economic & Social Development; Mains GS3
GST for UPSC: 101st Amendment and Articles 246A, 269A and 279A, GST Council voting, taxes subsumed, items outside GST, 2025 rate reform,…
The 57th GST Council meeting on 8 October 2026 focused on process reform rather than rates. It recommended removing arrest powers under GST, raising the prosecution threshold from ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore, cutting the general penalty from ₹25,000 to ₹10,000, no notices below ₹10,000 tax, wider input tax credit and refunds, and limits on interception of goods in transit.
UPSC angle: Prelims: GST Council structure, Article 279A. · Mains GS-III: indirect tax reform; GS-II: fiscal federalism.
8 Oct 2026
GST, launched on 1 July 2017, completed nine years. A PIB backgrounder says GST taxpayers grew from 66.5 lakh in 2017 to 1.65 crore in May 2026, and gross collection rose from about ₹13.76 lakh crore in 2021-22 to about ₹22.27 lakh crore in 2025-26. The Next-Gen GST reforms of September 2025 moved to two main slabs, 5% and 18%.
UPSC angle: Prelims: 101st Amendment, Article 279A, GST Council composition. · Mains: GST and fiscal federalism.
30 Jun 2026
New law from 1 April 2026; awareness matters for compliance.
UPSC angle: Prelims: none.
20 Mar 2026
Tax treaties shape where investment is routed from.
UPSC angle: Prelims: DTAA.
23 Feb 2026
Simpler law should mean fewer disputes, but only if the rules stay clear.
UPSC angle: Prelims: Income-tax Act 2025.
8 Feb 2026
Most passengers meet customs only through these rules, so this is ease of living at the airport.
UPSC angle: Prelims: none.
2 Feb 2026