NEW DELHI: India’s gross goods and services tax (GST) collections rose 14.7% in September to ₹2.04 trillion from ₹1.77 trillion a year earlier, with the headline growth driven largely by a sharper rise in tax collected on imports, which increased nearly 26%, according to provisional data released by the finance ministry on Thursday.
September was the third month this fiscal year in which GST collections crossed the ₹2 trillion mark, but were below the ₹2.11 trillion collected in July, when the monthly mop-up crossed ₹2 trillion for the second time. July’s collection was the second-highest since GST was introduced in July 2017, after the record ₹2.43 trillion collected in April 2026.
The September numbers come ahead of the 57th GST Council meeting on 7 October in New Delhi. While the council’s agenda has not yet been made public, discussions are likely to include a review of GST on merchant discount rate () on UPI transactions, with a new MDR levy slated to take effect from 15 October. The meeting could also provide an opportunity to review the implementation of rate rationalization and take up outstanding issues under the indirect tax regime, as reported by Mint on 28 August.
Imports do the heavy lifting
Gross domestic GST revenue rose 10.1% to ₹1.38 trillion in September from ₹1.25 trillion a year earlier. GST collected on imports, meanwhile, jumped 25.9% to ₹65,525 crore from ₹52,031 crore.
The rise in import-linked GST is in line with the trend seen earlier in the fiscal. According to a Crisil Ratings analysis published on 22 September, IGST collections from imports grew nearly 30% in the five months through August, aided by imports of electronics, machinery, gold, fertilisers and other key goods. Crisil also said elevated commodity prices, rupee depreciation and stable import volumes were supporting import-linked IGST collections.
In September, domestic increased by ₹12,662 crore over the year, while GST revenue from imports rose by ₹13,494 crore. The import component therefore accounted for more than half of the ₹26,156 crore increase in gross GST collections during the month.
Total gross GST revenue stood at ₹2.04 trillion in September, compared with ₹1.77 trillion a year earlier.
Total refunds fell 3% to ₹27,001 crore in September from ₹27,848 crore a year earlier. Domestic refunds declined 13.5% to ₹13,504 crore, while export GST refunds processed through the ICEGATE platform rose 10.2% to ₹13,497 crore, government data showed.
Domestic refunds are driven largely by inverted duty structures, where input taxes are higher than output taxes.
After refunds, net GST revenue rose 18.1% to ₹1.77 trillion in September from ₹1.50 trillion a year earlier. Net domestic GST revenue increased 13.5% to ₹1.24 trillion, while net revenue from customs-related GST rose 30.8% to ₹52,028 crore.
The faster growth in net collections than gross revenue reflects the decline in total refunds during the month.
Experts said the ₹2.04 trillion headline needs to be read alongside the composition of growth and the policy agenda before the
“If the Council can translate GST 2.0 into meaningful process reforms around ITC, registration, refunds and compliance, it could strengthen the quality of revenue growth by reducing friction for compliant businesses and improving tax efficiency. The next phase of GST, therefore, is less about headline rate changes and more about making the system work better, and that could provide an important foundation for sustaining the current momentum,” said Manoj Mishra, partner and Tax Controversy Management Leader, Grant Thornton Bharat.
“GST collections remain strong, but it’s interesting to see that domestic revenues grew 10.1% compared with almost 26% growth in import GST. This suggests a meaningful part of the headline buoyancy is coming from imports. At the same time, cumulative refunds are up nearly 19%, which is a positive signal for businesses from a liquidity standpoint. Sustained domestic growth will be important to watch from here,” said Pratik Jain, partner, Price Waterhouse & Co LLP.
For April-September, gross GST collections increased 11.6% to ₹12.46 trillion from ₹11.17 trillion in the corresponding period of FY26.
The composition again points to a stronger contribution from imports. Gross domestic GST revenue rose 6.1% to ₹8.74 trillion, while gross GST revenue from imports increased 27.1% to ₹3.72 trillion.
After refunds, net GST revenue stood at ₹10.66 trillion, up 10.4% from ₹9.65 trillion a year earlier. Net domestic revenue increased 4.3% to ₹7.70 trillion, while net customs revenue rose 30.5% to ₹2.96 trillion.
Refunds during April-September increased 18.8% to ₹1.80 trillion from ₹1.52 trillion a year earlier. Domestic refunds rose 21.4% to ₹1.04 trillion, while export GST refunds through ICEGATE increased 15.4% to ₹75,806 crore.
According to Mahesh Jaising, Partner and Indirect Tax Leader at Deloitte India, the growth in domestic GST collections and import-linked collections indicates continued strength in domestic demand and trade activity. “The significant growth in import-linked collections reflects demand for inputs and capital goods supporting domestic manufacturing under the ‘Make in India’ initiative,” said Jaising.
State-wise split
The state-wise data showed a mixed picture in September, with strong growth in several large states offset by declines elsewhere.
Assam recorded an 88% increase in GST revenue to ₹2,415 crore from ₹1,287 crore a year earlier. Manipur recorded the highest growth among states, at 145%, although from a much smaller base, with collections rising to ₹92 crore from ₹37 crore.
Among major states, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Punjab recorded 18% growth, followed by Gujarat at 17%, Karnataka at 16% and Maharashtra at 15%. Kerala recorded 11% growth, while Odisha’s collections rose 10%.
Maharashtra remained the largest contributor, with GST revenue of ₹29,986 crore in September, up 15% from ₹25,973 crore a year earlier. Karnataka’s collections rose 16% to ₹13,884 crore, Gujarat’s increased 17% to ₹12,222 crore and Uttar Pradesh’s rose 18% to ₹8,882 crore.
Delhi’s collections rose 12% to ₹6,354 crore, while Haryana recorded a 2% increase to ₹10,097 crore. West Bengal’s collections rose 6% to ₹5,549 crore and Andhra Pradesh’s increased 6% to ₹3,599 crore.
GST revenue fell 29% in Jammu and Kashmir, 21% in Himachal Pradesh, 23% in Uttarakhand, 14% in Meghalaya, 7% in Goa and 5% in Tamil Nadu. Puducherry recorded a 31% decline, while Sikkim’s collections fell 51%.