If you searched GST Amendment Act 101 and GST amendment date 2026 - you're probably not here for the registration-update process. You want to know what actually changed in the law this year. So that's what this covers, in plain language, with notification numbers you can check yourself.
GST Amendment Act 101 and GST Amendment Act, 2017 - What People Actually Mean
Quick Answer Two different laws. The Constitution (101st Amendment) Act, 2016 created the GST framework. The CGST Act, 2017 runs GST day-to-day and has been amended multiple times. Neither is a process you file - they apply automatically once notified.
These two search terms point to completely different laws, and neither one is something your business files.
The Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016 is what created GST. It inserted Article 246A - giving both Parliament and state legislatures power to levy GST - and set up the GST Council under Article 279A. That's the 101 people refer to. A constitutional amendment from 2016. No current filing process attached to it.
The CGST Act, 2017 is the actual law that runs GST day to day. It's been amended several times since - through Finance Acts and standalone bills - touching ITC rules, refunds, appeals, rate schedules. When someone searches "GST Amendment Act, 2017," they're usually hunting for one of those changes, or the base Act itself.
Both apply automatically once notified. You don't file anything.
GST 2.0 - The Rate Rationalisation
Quick Answer The 56th GST Council meeting (3 September 2025) recommended scrapping the five-slab structure. Notification No. 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate) made it official from 22 September 2025. The 12% slab is abolished. Old 28%+cess bracket collapsed into flat 40%.
This is the change that actually matters for most businesses. The 56th GST Council meeting on September 3, 2025 recommended scrapping the five-slab structure. Notification No. 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate) made it official, with effect from 22 September 2025.
The old structure - 0%, 5%, 12%, 18%, 28% plus cess - is gone. What replaced it:
|
GST Rate |
Applies To |
|
0% |
Essentials: dairy, life-saving drugs, school books, educational materials; health and life insurance premiums (new addition) |
|
5% |
Everyday goods: packaged food, toothpaste, soap, bicycles, economy air tickets |
|
18% |
Most goods and services: consumer electronics, compact cars, restaurant meals |
|
40% |
Luxury and sin goods: premium cars, motorcycles above 350cc, aerated drinks, online gaming and betting, most tobacco products |
The 12% slab no longer exists. Goods that sat there got redistributed to either 5% or 18% based on classification. The old 28%-plus-cess bracket on luxury and sin goods collapsed into a flat 40%.
⚠ Contract Review Required Here's the part businesses miss: if you supply goods that shifted from 12% to 18%, any fixed-price contract you signed before September 2025 needs a look. Who absorbs the rate difference isn't decided by the notification. It's decided by what your contract says. Or doesn't say.
The insurance change is worth flagging separately. Health and life insurance premiums moved from 18% GST to 0% in the same rollout. If your company reimburses employee insurance, that saving should show up in the premium itself. Worth confirming with your insurer rather than assuming it's been adjusted.
Tobacco and Cigarette GST Changes - Effective 1 February 2026
Quick Answer Notification No. 19/2025-Central Tax (Rate), dated 31 December 2025, effective 1 February 2026. Biris → 18% (down from 28%). Cigarettes, pan masala, gutkha → 40%. Compensation cess: Nil. New excise duty introduced separately.
This came through a separate notification, months later, for reasons specific to tobacco. Notification No. 19/2025-Central Tax (Rate), dated 31 December 2025, amended the base Notification No. 9/2025. Matching notifications under Integrated Tax and Union Territory Tax were issued to keep the three laws aligned. Everything took effect on 1 February 2026.
What changed:
|
Product |
New GST Rate |
Breakdown |
Cess |
|
Biris (tariff headings 2403 19 21 and 2403 19 29) - moved to Schedule II |
18% |
9% CGST + 9% SGST |
Nil |
|
Cigarettes, pan masala, gutkha, chewing tobacco and most other tobacco products - moved to Schedule III |
40% |
20% CGST + 20% SGST |
Nil |
🚨 Billing System Alert - RSP-Based Valuation There's also a valuation change that trips up billing systems: GST on notified tobacco goods is now computed on the Retail Sale Price printed on the pack, not the transaction price on the invoice. The old method still running in your system means you're likely under-reporting liability. The portal will not necessarily flag this proactively.
And separately, outside GST entirely: the government introduced additional excise duty under the Central Excise Act and the Central Excise (Amendment) Act, 2025, also from 1 February 2026. Ranges from roughly Rs. 2,050 to Rs. 8,500 per 1,000 sticks depending on cigarette length. This hits manufacturers and importers, not retailers. A Health and National Security Cess was also introduced on pan masala through the same set.
⚠ Three Simultaneous Changes If your business is in this space, three separate changes landed simultaneously: a GST rate restructuring, a cess removal, and a new excise duty. They need to be handled individually.
ITC Validation Is Now a Hard Block - From January 2026 Returns Onward
Quick Answer From GSTR-3B filed for January 2026 onward, the portal won't let you submit if your claimed ITC doesn't match GSTR-2B. Not a warning — a block. Supplier non-filing means your return gets stuck regardless of whether the purchase was genuine.
From GSTR-3B filed for January 2026 onward, the portal won't let you submit if your claimed ITC doesn't match GSTR-2B. Not a warning. A block.
Before this, a mismatch threw up a flag but let you file anyway. That's done.
The practical consequence: if one of your suppliers files their GSTR-1 late, or not at all, their invoices don't show in your GSTR-2B. Your return gets stuck regardless of whether your purchase was completely genuine. The portal doesn't care about the reason.
⚠ Action Required If a handful of large suppliers drive most of your ITC, it's worth tracking their filing patterns each month rather than finding out the hard way at return time.
Export Refund Threshold Removed - Intermediary Services Reclassified
Quick Answer Two Budget 2026-27 changes. Export refund minimum threshold removed — every valid claim now gets processed regardless of amount. Intermediary services to overseas recipients reclassified as exports — 0% GST, ITC claimable.
Two Budget 2026-27 changes that work in favour of exporters and service providers billing overseas.
On export refunds: the minimum threshold that used to hold up smaller refund claims has been removed. Every valid export refund claim gets processed now, regardless of amount. Small exporters who had working capital sitting frozen below the old threshold should see that change.
On intermediary services: previously, if an Indian business was arranging a supply between two other parties and billed the overseas client, the place of supply was treated as India. GST at 18% applied. Under the amended rule, place of supply now follows where the recipient is. If the recipient is outside India, it qualifies as an export. No GST, and ITC on inputs becomes claimable.
⚠ Do Not Over-Apply This Rule This only covers genuine intermediary situations, where you're facilitating a transaction between two others. If you're directly delivering a service to an overseas client yourself, you were already treated as an exporter. Nothing changes for you.
Summary
|
Change |
Notification / Source |
Effective Date |
|
GST 2.0 four-slab structure |
Notification No. 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate) |
22 September 2025 |
|
Health and life insurance to 0% GST |
Same notification |
22 September 2025 |
|
Tobacco/biri rate restructuring |
Notification No. 19/2025-Central Tax (Rate) |
1 February 2026 |
|
Tobacco compensation cess: Nil |
Same notification set |
1 February 2026 |
|
Additional excise duty on tobacco |
Central Excise (Amendment) Act, 2025 |
1 February 2026 |
|
Hard ITC validation blocking GSTR-3B |
GST portal |
January 2026 returns onward |
|
Export refund threshold removed |
Budget 2026-27, Section 54(14) CGST Act |
FY 2026-27 |
|
Intermediary services reclassified |
Budget 2026-27, Place of Supply rules |
FY 2026-27 |
Mistakes Showing Up Repeatedly Since These Changes Took Effect
-
Treating September 2025 and February 2026 as one event. They're not. Different notifications, different dates, different reasons. A business doing a "2026 GST review" needs to check both separately.
-
Assuming tobacco cess going Nil means a lower total tax burden. In most cases it doesn't. The cess was replaced by additional excise duty and a Health and National Security Cess sitting outside GST. Total incidence on most tobacco products either stayed the same or went up.
-
Still billing on transaction value for notified tobacco goods. GST is now computed on the printed RSP. Running the old method creates an under-reporting problem, and it's not something the portal will necessarily flag for you proactively.
-
Not reviewing contracts that had a fixed 12% GST. If a supply agreement specified 12% and those goods moved to 18%, the contract terms govern who eats the difference, not the notification. Silence in the contract typically benefits the supplier. Worth reading the specific contract, not assuming.
-
Applying the intermediary reclassification too broadly. It applies only where you're genuinely facilitating a supply between two other parties. If you're the direct service provider to the overseas client, the rule doesn't change your situation.
Month-by-Month Timeline
-
3 September 202556th GST Council recommends four-slab structure
-
22 September 2025GST 2.0 takes effect; insurance GST goes to 0%
-
31 December 2025Tobacco restructuring notified
-
1 January 2026Hard ITC validation starts for January returns
-
1 February 2026Tobacco/biri rates, cess removal, excise duty all kick in
-
1 April 2026Budget 2026-27 provisions (export refunds, intermediary services) apply
One thing worth keeping in mind: "notified on" and "effective from" are often different dates. The tobacco notification came in December but applied from February. When you're checking whether a rule applies to you already, confirm the effective date, not just when it was announced.
Where to Find the Original Notifications
Official Sources:
gst.gov.in or
cbic.gov.in → Notifications section.
Search by
notification number rather than date - multiple notifications often come out the same day, so the date alone doesn't get you there.
Example:
Notification No. 19/2025-Central Tax (Rate), 31 December 2025
FAQs
Q1. What is the GST Amendment Act, 2017 or GST Amendment Act 101?
Two different things. The Constitution (101st Amendment) Act, 2016 created the legal basis for GST. The CGST Act, 2017 is the law that runs GST itself and has been amended multiple times since. Neither is a process you file. They apply automatically.
Q2. What are the major GST changes in 2026?
The four-slab GST 2.0 structure from September 2025, health and life insurance moving to 0%, the tobacco rate restructuring from February 2026, hard ITC validation on GSTR-3B from January 2026, and the export refund and intermediary services changes under Budget 2026-27.
Q3. What GST rate applies to cigarettes and tobacco now?
From 1 February 2026, biris are at 18% total (9% CGST + 9% SGST). Cigarettes, pan masala, gutkha, and most other tobacco products are at 40% (20% CGST + 20% SGST). Notification No. 19/2025-Central Tax (Rate).
Q4. Is the GST compensation cess still charged on tobacco?
No. Nil from 1 February 2026. A separate excise duty and Health and National Security Cess apply instead, but those sit outside the GST framework.
Q5. Where do I download the GST notification PDFs?
gst.gov.in or cbic.gov.in, Notifications section. Search by number, not date. Multiple notifications land on the same date regularly.
Q6. Does the 12% GST slab still exist?
No. Abolished as part of GST 2.0 from 22 September 2025. Goods previously at 12% were moved to either 5% or 18%.
Q7. Did GST on health insurance change?
Yes. Health and life insurance premiums dropped from 18% to 0% as part of the September 2025 rollout. Applies to individual and group policies.
Q8. Why is my GSTR-3B getting blocked?
From January 2026 returns onward, ITC mismatches between your filing and GSTR-2B block the submission entirely. If your supplier hasn't filed their GSTR-1, their invoices don't appear in your GSTR-2B, and your return gets stuck regardless.
Q9. Are intermediary services to foreign clients now exempt from GST?
Where you're genuinely acting as a facilitator between two other parties and the recipient is outside India, yes, it can qualify as an export with no GST. If you're directly delivering the service to the overseas client yourself, you were already treated as an exporter. That hasn't changed.
Q10. How do I know if a GST rate change affects my business specifically?
Check your product or service's HSN/SAC code against the updated schedules in the relevant notification, not just the headline rate changes. Rate restructuring often reclassifies specific tariff headings rather than entire product categories, so two similar products can end up in different slabs.