GST collection climbs 6% on revenue from imports

New Delhi: India collected ₹1.74 lakh crore as gross goods and services tax (GST) in December, 6% higher than in the same month last year, maintaining a steady pace of growth and indicating sustained demand anchored in progressive reductions both in GST and financing rates.

Gross revenue from domestic transactions rose 1.2% to over ₹1.22 lakh crore, official data published Thursday showed, while revenues from imported goods climbed about a fifth to ₹51,977 crore during December.

Refunds were strong, up 31% to ₹28,980 crore for the month in review. Net GST revenues after adjusting refunds stood at over ₹1.45 lakh crore, up 2.2% year-on-year.

"The composition of collections is equally telling, with import-related IGST growth of 19.7% pointing to resilient supply chains and manufacturing momentum, while steady domestic collections reflect stable consumption," said Manoj Mishra, Partner and Tax Controversy Management Leader, Grant Thornton Bharat.

"As Budget 2026-27 approaches, these trends strengthen the case for policy focus on building on the GST 2.0 reforms focusing on end-to-end automation of compliances, reduction of unwarranted litigation and calibrated credit framework to sustain growth without compromising revenue certainty," Mishra added.

Cess collection last month dropped to ₹4,238 crore compared to ₹12,003 crore in December 2024.

Experts said that the number reveals that any negative impact of GST rate rationalisation is compensated by consumption.

"It is essential to note that the gross GST collections excluding cess have largely remained the same as the same month last year, indicating that the loss on account of rate reductions have been compensated by higher consumption although not at the expected scale," said M S Mani, Partner, Deloitte. "While the GDP data indicates a robust growth, the GST collections over the next four months would indicate whether the FY26 fiscal targets can be met as planned," Mani added.

However some experts believe achieving 9% growth for the year is still possible. "Despite the steep cut in GST rates earlier this year, a growth of around 6% in gross monthly collection is encouraging, though it's largely attributable to imports" said Pratik Jain, partner, Price Waterhouse & Co LLP.

"If this momentum continues for the remaining months of this fiscal year, the YoY growth of around 9% is still possible, which seems to be the target government might also be looking at," he added.

There was also a wide divergence in state-wise collections.