The GST Council, in its 21st meeting held at Hyderabad on 9 September 2017, approved a series of facilitative measures aimed at addressing practical difficulties faced by taxpayers during the initial months of GST implementation. In response to challenges in return filing, the Council revised the due dates for key GST returns for July 2017, including GSTR-1, GSTR-2, GSTR-3, GSTR-4, and GSTR-6, and decided that FORM GSTR-3B would continue to be filed for the months of August to December 2017. To provide flexibility to small taxpayers, registered persons who were unable to opt for the Composition Scheme earlier were allowed a fresh window to do so up to 30 September 2017, with the scheme becoming effective from 1 October 2017. The Council also granted targeted relief to the handicraft sector and job workers by exempting them from compulsory registration for inter-State supplies up to the threshold limit, subject to conditions such as possession of PAN and movement of goods under e-way bills. Further, it allowed a one-time revision of FORM GST TRAN-1 and extended the due date for its submission to 31 October 2017 to ease transition-related issues. While registration for TDS and TCS was scheduled to begin from 18 September 2017, the actual date of deduction or collection was deferred for later notification. To address systemic concerns, the Council decided to constitute a committee of Centre and State officers to examine export-related issues and a Group of Ministers to monitor and resolve IT challenges under GST. These measures reflected the Council’s focus on stabilising the GST framework and reducing compliance stress during the transition phase.