India's Goods and Services Tax (GST), launched on July 1, 2017, is shifting toward AI-led enforcement and cross-agency data integration as it enters its tenth year, according to PTI reporting via The Economic Times. Authorities are integrating GST, income tax, and customs databases to improve risk assessment and curb evasion while aiming to reduce compliance burdens on micro, small, and medium enterprises. The registered taxpayer base has grown from 66.5 lakh at launch to roughly 1.6 crore in 2026. The shift signals sustained investment in auditable anomaly-detection models, privacy-preserving record linkage across datasets, and exception-handling pipelines for automated refunds. For data engineers and compliance teams, this requires transparent models and resilient data pipelines that join cross-agency sources without breaking governance requirements.