Imports power growth: February GST collections rise 8.1% to ₹1.84 lakh crore

New Delhi: India's gross goods and services tax (GST) collection increased 8.1% year-on-year to ₹1.84 lakh crore in February, driven by steady domestic demand and a surge in import-related revenue, showed official data released on Sunday.

Experts say that the number, along with other economic indicators, shows both cyclical recovery and structural gains from the GST rate rationalisation, pointing at the inherent resilience and steady consumption driven growth of the Indian economy.

"India's continued rise in GST collections, despite persistent global uncertainties, underscores the inherent resilience and expanding formalisation of the economy," said Saurabh Agarwal, tax partner, EY India.


He added that strong growth in Jammu & Kashmir, Bihar, Sikkim, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Odisha and Ladakh reflected the deepening of economic activity across the country, which signalled that growth was becoming increasingly broad-based.

"These GST collection figures reflect that there has been a consumption uptick that has more than compensated for the rate reductions," said MS Mani, tax partner, Deloitte India.

He pointed out that while monthly collections had been inching toward the ₹2 lakh crore-mark, the rate cuts pulled them back, and that it might take some time before that milestone is consistently achieved.

While some of the large states-such as Tamil Nadu (-6%), Madhya Pradesh (-8%) and Rajasthan (-1%)-continued to report a decline in GST collection, others such as Uttar Pradesh (5%) and Maharashtra (6%) saw single-digit growth, which would be a matter of concern for the states and the policymakers, Mani added.

Gross domestic revenue increased 5.3% to ₹1.35 lakh crore, indicating steady consumer and business spending. Revenue from imports surged 17.2% to ₹47,837 crore, suggesting robust industrial demand and higher inflows of goods.

"This indicates that trade activity and tighter customs-side compliance are currently providing a stronger lift to overall collections than core domestic demand," said Manoj Mishra, partner and tax controversy management leader, Grant Thornton Bharat.

Refunds continued to accelerate, increasing 10.2% year-on-year to ₹22,595 crore, led by a 26.5% jump in export-related integrated GST refunds to ₹12,656 crore.

"This indicates a maturing GST architecture that is balancing revenue strength with timely liquidity flows to businesses," added Mishra.

Collection after refunds increased 7.9% to ₹1.61 lakh crore.