GST Changes from 1 August 2026 — Ship-to GSTIN, Provisional Refunds & More

11. Ship-to GSTIN becomes mandatory in e-Invoice & e-Way Bill

From 1 August 2026, the GSTN advisory makes the Ship-to GSTIN a mandatory field in the IRN (e-Invoice) and e-Way Bill APIs. Where goods are shipped to a different registered location than the billed party, that recipient's GSTIN must be captured — so 'bill-to / ship-to' transactions need the correct ship-to GSTIN on every document.

22. Provisional refunds for the inverted duty structure

Taxpayers claiming refunds due to an inverted duty structure (where inputs are taxed higher than outputs) will now be eligible for provisional refunds — easing the working-capital squeeze that previously locked up cash until the full refund was sanctioned.

33. Post-sale discounts without a pre-existing agreement

Businesses will no longer need a pre-existing written agreement to grant post-sale (secondary) discounts under GST. This removes a long-standing compliance headache for trade schemes and volume discounts issued after the sale.

44. Minimum refund threshold removed for exports with tax

The minimum refund amount threshold is removed for exports made with payment of tax — so smaller exporters can claim refunds that were earlier below the cut-off.

5Your billing checklist for 1 August 2026

• Update your invoicing / ERP software to capture and send the Ship-to GSTIN on e-Invoices and e-Way Bills.
• Train billing staff to fill the correct ship-to GSTIN on bill-to/ship-to transactions.
• If you have an inverted duty structure, review your refund workflow to use the new provisional refund.
• Revisit your post-sale discount / trade-scheme documentation now that a prior agreement isn't required.
• Exporters: re-check refund claims you earlier skipped because they were below the threshold.