A senior Finance Ministry official said on Thursday that the simplified Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration process for small e-commerce sellers, proposed at the 57th GST Council meeting earlier this month, will commence on November 1.Speaking at an event hosted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), the official, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the necessary system modifications to introduce the new registration process had been completed. The feature will be activated on the GST portal at the beginning of next month.The Council proposed a streamlined, voluntary registration mechanism under a new Rule 14B of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Rules, 2017.Under this mechanism, small sellers of goods who sell exclusively through electronic commerce operators (ECOs) can register in different states by designating the e-commerce platform’s warehouse as their principal place of business.They will not be required to establish their own office or store in those states.The facility will be available only to sellers whose monthly input tax credit (ITC) transfer is limited to Rs 2.5 lakh. They must already have a physical place of business and GST registration in at least one state, which will be treated as their home state.Registration under this scheme will be valid only for transactions conducted through e-commerce platforms. The system will also obtain the consent of the relevant e-commerce operator.The official said that detailed circulars outlining the registration procedure, along with the relevant notifications, would be issued in the coming days. Notifications and circulars covering specific refund-related changes approved by the GST Council are also expected to be released soon.Separately, another senior official said that the restriction under Section 16(2)(c) of the CGST Act—which links a buyer’s eligibility for input tax credit (ITC) to the actual payment of tax by the supplier—would be examined in detail by the panel of officers constituted to review the issue.The official said that the committee is expected to submit its report within three months. Once completed, the report will be placed before the GST Council for a final decision.