Sunday, 23 Mar, 2025
India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenues continued to show steady growth, with gross collections reaching ₹1.84 lakh crore in February 2025, up from ₹1.68 lakh crore in the same month last year. Image Source: Getty
The gross GST revenue collected from April 2024 to February 2025 was ₹17,79,506 crore
India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections witnessed a 9.1 percent year-on-year increase, reaching approximately ₹1.84 lakh crore in February 2025, according to official data released on March 1. Breaking down the figures, the central GST contributed ₹35,204 crore, while state GST stood at ₹43,704 crore. The integrated GST accounted for ₹90,870 crore, with compensation cess adding another ₹13,868 crore. Revenue from domestic transactions saw a robust 10.2 percent rise, touching ₹1.42 lakh crore, while GST collections from imports climbed 5.4 percent to ₹41,702 crore. Meanwhile, refund disbursements in February surged 17.3 percent year-on-year to ₹20,889 crore. After adjusting for refunds, net GST collections for the month stood at ₹1.63 lakh crore, marking an 8.1 percent increase from the previous year.
India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenues continued to show steady growth, with gross collections reaching ₹1.84 lakh crore in February 2025, up from ₹1.68 lakh crore in the same month last year. Net GST revenue also saw an increase, rising from ₹1.50 lakh crore in February 2024. However, the February 2025 figures fell short of the record-high ₹1.96 lakh crore collected in January 2025, reflecting a month-on-month decline in collections.
KPMG, Indirect Tax Head & Partner, Abhishek Jain said, "GST collections growth of 10.2 percent on domestic supplies and overall growth of 9.1 percent indicates a potential revival of the economy for Q4. If the Maha Kumbh effect comes into play, next month's revenue growth could be even better".
Deloitte India Partner M.S. Mani highlighted a significant surge in GST collections across major manufacturing and consumer-driven states such as Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka, with increases ranging between 10 percent and 20 percent. However, he noted that a closer analysis is needed to understand the relatively modest growth of 1 percent to 4 percent observed in states like Telangana, Gujarat, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha. A detailed evaluation, he suggested, could help identify the key factors influencing GST revenue growth across regions.
Source: Ministry of Finance
Lakshadweep (-55 percent), Ladakh (-46 percent), Mizoram (-16 percent), Manipur (-9 percent) and J&K (-2 percent) witnessed a decline in the GST revenue.
"This year's GST collection is almost on target and that is one of the reasons that the actual fiscal deficit for FY24-25 of 4.8% is estimated to be below the budgeted 4.9%. It is heartening to see that the growth of GST on imports is 7.2% only vis-a-vis growth in domestic GST Collection of 10.1%. If at all, It is an indication that India is getting more 'Atmanirbhar'. Coupled with this, an increase of 15.8% in refunds (including export refunds) is a positive sign. It shows that now India is also increasingly 'making for the world'. Overall, amidst geo-political headwinds, India seems to be managing well," said Vivek Jalan, partner at Tax Connect Advisory Services.
The gross GST revenue collected from April 2024 to February 2025 was ₹17,79,506 crore of which Central Goods and Service Tax (CGST) was ₹3,44,758 crore, State Goods and Service Tax (SGST) was ₹4,27,580 crore while the Integrated Goods and Service Tax (IGST) was ₹8,70,512 crore. The gross GST collection from the current fiscal year has increased by 8.6 percent year-on-year as compared to the same period in the last fiscal.
The introduction and implementation of the Goods and Service Tax was a turning point in India’s history of taxation. In a diverse and federal nation like India, where many tax laws were unified into a single system, the adoption of this complete system was especially noteworthy. The GST is a value-added tax applied on the majority of goods and services sold for domestic consumption. Consumers pay the GST, but businesses that provide products and services remit it to the government. GST is levied on the 'supply' of goods or services, as opposed to the prior concept of levy on the manufacture of things, the sale of goods, or the provision of services. The rates of CGST, SGST, and IGST are mutually agreed upon by the Centre and the States. The rates are announced based on the GST Council's suggestion. In May 2015, the GST (122nd Constitutional Amendment) Bill, 2014 was enacted. It was enacted as the Constitution (101st Amendment) Act, 2016, and went into force on September 16, 2016. The GST was implemented on July 1, 2017.
The highest ever GST collection was recorded in April 2024 at ₹2,10,267 crore. The GST revenue collection was lowest in June 2021 at ₹92,800 crore.
The government’s tax revenue has seen a significant boost, driven primarily by Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections. According to the Economic Survey for FY25, GST emerged as the leading source of revenue for 23 states from their Own Revenue Receipts, with Manipur and Nagaland relying on it the most—at 78 percent and 72 percent, respectively. Over the past seven years, the GST Council has convened 55 times, making key recommendations on rate revisions, compliance simplifications, and trade facilitation to support taxpayers. The Union Budget echoed this sentiment, proposing amendments to the Finance Bill to further refine the tax framework.
Reflecting the government’s ‘Viksit Bharat’ vision, the Budget places strong emphasis on initiatives such as ‘Make in India,’ export growth, and trade facilitation. In her Budget speech, the finance minister underscored the tax department’s commitment to a ‘trust first, scrutinize later’ approach—an initiative that, if executed effectively, could improve ease of doing business in India and offer greater certainty to global investors.
Gyanendra Tripathi, Partner & Leader (West) for Indirect Tax at BDO India, pointed out that the higher-than-usual refunds issued in February have resulted in a slower-than-average growth rate in net GST collection. “The growth in gross GST collections for February 2025 is almost in line with the year's average growth rate. However, higher-than-average refunds issued this month have led to lower-than-average growth rates in the net GST collection numbers. Another interesting point is that the year-on-year growth rate of collections by central formations has significantly outpaced the growth rate in collections by state formations, which may possibly be due to the significant successes of the investigation arms of the central formations,” said Tripathi.
