The 57th GST Council moved to 7 October. Here's what freelancers can rely on today.
The Council meeting expected on 12 September was rescheduled for the BRICS summit. Nothing changed — and that's the point: the registration threshold, the export exemption, the LUT process and the 3-day Rule 14A registration are all settled. What's on the October agenda, and what isn't.
If you were waiting for the 57th GST Council before deciding on registration or an LUT, stop waiting. The meeting scheduled for 12 September 2026 was rescheduled to 7 October 2026 because India hosted the BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi on 12–13 September. No decisions were taken; nothing changed.
For freelancers that is good news, because everything you need is already settled law.
What is settled (and now in our tools)
- Registration threshold: ₹20 lakh for services (₹10 lakh only in Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura). Unchanged.
- The export exemption most people miss: inter-state and export services below the threshold do not force registration — Notification 10/2017-Integrated Tax is still in force. A freelancer with foreign clients and ₹15 lakh turnover is not compelled to register.
- But the LUT needs a GSTIN: zero-rating paperwork and refunds are for registered persons only — which is why exporters register voluntarily. Since 1 November 2025, Rule 14A grants registration in about three working days after Aadhaar authentication if your B2B output tax stays within ₹2.5 lakh a month.
- Intermediaries became exporters on 30 March 2026: the Finance Act 2026 omitted s.13(8)(b) IGST, so agents and facilitators serving foreign recipients now fall under the default place-of-supply rule — for invoices on or after that date.
- Refunds: 90% provisional refund for low-risk LUT-route claims has been live since 1 October 2025. The ₹1,000 minimum still applies to service exporters (the amendment removing it covers goods, and isn’t notified yet).
Two new tools apply all of this: the GST registration checker and the export of services checker, with a step-by-step LUT guide between them.
What’s on the October agenda
Press reports point to registration simplification for larger businesses (those with output tax above the ₹2.5 lakh/month Rule 14A line), automation of registration cancellation, blocked-credit and inverted-duty refund issues, and a review of state revenues after last year’s rate rationalisation. Nothing reported touches the threshold, the export exemption, LUT or the intermediary position.
What to do this week
File your LUT if you export and haven’t; check your registration position with the tool; and diarise 7 October — we’ll verify the Council’s decisions the day they’re published and update every affected page with a new “last verified” date.
Last verified: 18 September 2026 — confirm decisions with a Chartered Accountant.