GST Council Meets on 7 October After More Than a Year: What Scrap Dealers Should Watch, From Input Credit Safeguards to Copper's 5% Request
The GST Council meets in New Delhi on 7 October 2026, its first meeting in over a year. Reports say the agenda is about fixing procedures rather than cutting rates. For India's metal scrap trade, where buyers pay 18% GST in cash up front and lose credit when a supplier defaults, those procedures may matter more than any rate change. Here is what is expected, what is not, and what it could mean for your cash flow.
Recykal Times Desk·4 Oct 2026·5 min read·7 sources
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Copper and brass scrap piled at a dealer's yard at sunset, with a weighbridge, trade paperwork and a stamp — GST and the scrap trade.
The 7 October meeting at a glance
Item
Status as of 3 October 2026
Meeting
57th GST Council meeting, 7 October 2026, New Delhi
Original date
12 September 2026, moved because India hosted the BRICS summit
Officers' meeting
5 and 6 October 2026
Broad rate changes
Not expected, according to reports
Expected focus
Registration rules, protection of input tax credit for genuine buyers, return mismatches, registration cancellations
Copper producers' request
Cut GST on copper products from 18% to 5%, submitted on 22 September 2026
GST on metal scrap now
18%, with reverse charge on purchases from unregistered sellers and 2% TDS on larger deals between registered businesses
Why this meeting matters to scrap
The scrap trade has lived with two big GST changes since 10 October 2024. When a registered business buys metal scrap from an unregistered seller, such as a small kabadiwala, the buyer now pays the GST itself under reverse charge, in cash. When one registered business sells metal scrap to another and the deal is worth more than ₹2.5 lakh, the buyer deducts 2% as tax at source (TDS) and deposits it with the government.
Both rules were meant to stop fake invoices and tax evasion in a trade where many sellers are small and informal. Both also tie up cash. With metal prices high in 2026, the amounts tied up have grown.
What is expected on 7 October
According to reports in the week before the meeting, the Council is likely to concentrate on process reforms and leave rates broadly alone. The items mentioned include:
Registration: uniform paperwork and approval rules for businesses passing on more than ₹2.5 lakh of tax credit a month.
Credit safeguards: protecting genuine buyers whose suppliers fail to deposit the tax they collected.
Return mismatches: a way to correct differences between returns before a tax demand is raised.
Cancellations: more automated cancellation of registrations, with a chance for the business to be heard.
Blocked credits: a possible review of items on which credit is not allowed at present.
None of these has been confirmed by the Council. The final list will be known only after the meeting.
The item scrap buyers should read first
Recykal Times analysis: For metal scrap businesses, the credit safeguard for genuine buyers is likely to matter most. In the scrap trade, a buyer's credit can be denied when the supplier fails to deposit the tax it collected, even if the buyer paid in full and holds a valid invoice. A rule that protects buyers who can show a genuine purchase would reduce the biggest risk in buying from registered dealers. The registration item also touches the trade directly, because many scrap traders pass on large credits every month and would fall under the ₹2.5 lakh line.
Copper's request for 5%
On 22 September 2026, India's primary copper producers asked the Council to cut GST on copper products from 18% to 5%. They argued that the 18% rate locks up working capital across a processing cycle of four to five months, at a time of record copper prices. The producers put the working capital locked up at about ₹49,000 crore.
Their request is about copper products. It is not clear whether copper scrap would be included, and reports before the meeting did not list any rate change on metals. The recyclers' association MRAI has asked in the past for a 5% rate on metal scrap.
What 18% means in rupees
Recykal Times analysis: Take a registered recycler buying ₹10 lakh of copper scrap from unregistered sellers. Under reverse charge, it pays ₹1.8 lakh of GST in cash. It can claim that amount back as credit, but only against tax on its own sales, so the cash leaves the business first. At 5%, the same purchase would need ₹50,000. That is ₹1.3 lakh less cash tied up for every ₹10 lakh of scrap bought. (Our estimate: 18% and 5% of ₹10 lakh. The figure is illustrative and assumes the rate on scrap changes, which has not been proposed by the Council.)
Recykal Times analysis: For deals between registered businesses, TDS adds a second wait. On a ₹10 lakh sale, the seller receives ₹20,000 less and must wait for that amount to show in its GST cash ledger before it can use it. (Our estimate: 2% of ₹10 lakh.)
What this means for you
Kabadiwalas and small collectors: Nothing changes for you on 7 October unless the Council says so. Getting a GST registration still makes you easier to buy from, because registered buyers do not have to pay reverse charge on your behalf.
Traders and aggregators: Watch the registration and credit safeguard decisions closely. If you pass on more than ₹2.5 lakh of credit a month, new paperwork rules may apply to you.
Recyclers and furnace owners: If credit safeguards are approved, keep clean records of every purchase now: invoices, weighbridge slips, e-way bills and bank payments. Those are what a genuine buyer would have to show.
Copper and brass businesses: A rate cut on copper products would help producers first. Whether it reaches scrap depends on the wording of any decision.
What to watch
5 and 6 October 2026: Officers' meeting, where the agenda is finalised.
7 October 2026: Council meeting and the Finance Minister's briefing afterwards.
The notifications that follow: Council decisions take effect only once they are notified, often weeks later.
10 October 2026: Two years of reverse charge and TDS on metal scrap.
The bottom line
The 7 October meeting is unlikely to bring a rate cut on scrap. It could still bring a change many scrap buyers want: protection for honest buyers when a supplier does not pay the tax it collected. We will report the outcome after the meeting.
Discussion
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