The 43rd meeting of the GST Council was held via video conferencing under the chairpersonship of Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman and focused on providing wide-ranging relief in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with significant compliance and procedural reforms. As a major COVID-19 relief measure, the Council recommended full exemption from IGST on the import of specified COVID-related medical goods, including medical oxygen, oxygen concentrators, diagnostic kits, vaccines, and Amphotericin B, even when imported on payment basis for donation to government or authorised relief agencies, with the exemption valid up to 31 August 2021; Amphotericin B was also granted customs duty exemption. To further examine item-wise tax relief, the Council decided to constitute a Group of Ministers to submit recommendations within a short timeframe. Beyond pandemic relief, GST rates were reduced on Diethylcarbamazine (DEC) tablets to support the filariasis elimination programme, and several clarifications were issued on GST treatment of goods and services to reduce ambiguity and litigation. A key decision was the introduction of an amnesty scheme providing substantial waiver and capping of late fees for pending GSTR-3B returns from July 2017 to April 2021, along with rationalisation of late fees for future periods based on turnover. The Council also approved extensive COVID-related compliance relaxations, including reduced interest rates, waiver of late fees, extension of return due dates, and procedural flexibility such as filing returns using electronic verification codes. In a significant compliance reform, the annual return process for FY 2020–21 was simplified by enabling self-certification of reconciliation statements and making filing optional for smaller taxpayers. Overall, the decisions reflected a balanced approach aimed at easing taxpayer burden, supporting pandemic response, and strengthening the GST framework.