Budget 2026 Brings GST Changes: Finance Bill Amends CGST Act on Post-Sale Discounts u/s 15 [Read Finance Bill 2026]
The Finance Bill, 2026, simplifies CGST compliance by allowing businesses to issue credit notes for post-sale discounts without requiring a pre-existing agreement or specific invoice linkage.
The Union Budget for the Financial Year 2026-27 was presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha today (Sunday, 1 February 2026).
This amendment stands out in budget 2026 because it is practical, litigation-reducing GST reforms that simplify compliance while preserving revenue safeguards, making it one of the more business - friendly GST changes introduced this year.
The amendment proposed in clause 137 of the Financial Bill, 2026, fundamentally shifts the compliance burden for post -sale discounts from a documentary-led model to a transaction-led one.
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Under the old law, the earlier requirement of linking post-sale discounts to a specific agreement tied to invoices has been removed. The discount had to be established in terms of an agreement entered into at or before the time of supply. Also, the discount had to be specifically linked to the relevant original invoices.
The new rules simplify the process by requiring that the discount be granted through a credit notice issued under section 34, and the recipient must reverse the input tax credit attributable to the discount.
This emphasis thus shifts from invoice-wise correlation to proper documentation through credit notes and ITC reversal.
This change is important because the Budget 2026 directly fixes one of the most litigated and impractical Goods and Services Tax (GST) valuation issues- the post-scale discount under section 15 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act.
The amendment specifically addresses the treatment of post-sale discounts, an area that has been a major source of disputes between taxpayers and tax authorities since the introduction of GST.
Apart from section 15, Clauses 138,139, and 140 of the Financial Bill 2026 propose amendments to the CGST Act to enhance business liquidity and streamline appellate processes.
The financial bill, 2026, introduced taxpayer -friendly amendments to the Central Goods andServices Act (CGST ). These changes collectively aim to reduce litigation, improve business liquidity, and align GST compliance with modern commercial realities.
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