Nagpur's Symbiosis Law School hosts two-day national conference on GST reforms

Symbiosis Law School, Nagpur, in association with the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi, held a two-day national conference on September 18 and 19, 2026, on the theme "GST Reforms and their Socio-Economic Impact: Exploring Digitalisation, Compliance and Ease of Doing Business."

The inaugural session was attended by Sandeep Puri, Chief Commissioner of CGST, Customs and Central Excise, Nagpur Zone; R.S. Aravindakshan, Additional Director General (Administration) at the National Academy of Direct Taxes; and Dr. Vijay Pratap Tiwari, Incharge Vice-Chancellor of Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur. The conference convener, Prof. (Dr.) Sukhwinder Singh Dari, Director of Symbiosis Law School, Nagpur, welcomed the gathering. Dr. Tiwari spoke on India's journey towards "One Nation, One Tax" within a cooperative-federalism framework. Aravindakshan described GST as a "tremendous success" in bringing formalisation and transparency to the economy. Puri spoke on several aspects of GST law and its relationship with transparency and ease of doing business. Co-convener Dr. Aarti Kalnawat gave an overview of the two-day programme schedule.

The conference also held a plenary session on the legislative evolution and policy impact of GST, moderated by Dr. Ahmer Afaq. It featured CA Saket Bagadia, advocate Saurabh Malpani (partner, Lakshmikumaran and Sridharan, Nagpur), and R.P. Tolani, former Vice President of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT). The session covered the behavioural aspects of tax compliance, the functioning of the GST Council and rate rationalisation, the limits of the anti-profiteering framework, and principles of natural justice in quasi-judicial GST proceedings. It ended with a question-and-answer round on portal failures, algorithmic transparency, and the continued exclusion of petroleum and electricity from the scope of GST.

A panel discussion titled "Bridging Policy and Practice: Next Steps for GST 2.0" was also held, featuring Tejaswini Bhandarkar, founder and director of Tejtech; Pritam Batra, founding partner of Batra and Batra; and Varun Vijayvargiya, CA and founder partner of Vijayvargiya, Khabia and Sawji. This was followed by a moderated discussion and audience questions. The panel discussed the practical challenges of implementing GST 2.0 and the steps needed to translate policy intent into ground reality. The session was conducted by Dr. Anushree Mukte.

The conference also held four technical sessions focused on digitalisation and compliance, ease of doing business across sectors and regions, and policy innovations. These sessions were chaired by Dr. R. Kavita Rao (Director, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi), Dr. Karun Sanjaya (Assistant Professor, Government Law College, Kozhikode, Kerala), Dr. Neelam Panchal (Professor and Head of the Department, B.K. School of Management, Department of Public Policy, Gujarat University, Ahmedabad), and Dr. Sheetal Raut (Associate Dean, Information Technology: MIS, Network and Website, VNIT, Nagpur).

The valedictory session began with a welcome address by conference convener Prof. (Dr.) Sukhwinder Singh Dari, Director of Symbiosis Law School, Nagpur, followed by the conference report presented by co-convener Prof. Jimmy Jose. Shalini Mandhana, Joint CFO of Solar Industries India Limited, and Zulfesh Shah of COSIA, MSME, Vidarbha, also spoke. Certificates were distributed to presenters and participants. The session concluded with a vote of thanks by co-convener Prof. Divya Rai, the national anthem, and a group photograph.

The two-day national conference was largely successful, with wide academic participation across all sessions. It reaffirmed Symbiosis Law School, Nagpur's ongoing commitment to interdisciplinary research and academic engagement on current issues in law, taxation and economic policy.