GST mopup rises 9.1 per cent in February on strong local play

Synopsis

India's gross GST collections rose by 9.1% year-on-year in February, reaching ₹1.83 lakh crore, reflecting an economic rebound. Domestic transactions surged by 10.2% to ₹1.41 lakh crore, while growth from imports moderated to 5.4%. Experts foresee further increases in GST collections ahead.

New Delhi: India's gross goods and services tax (GST) collections rose 9.1% on-year to ₹1.83 lakh crore in February, reflecting a rebound in the economy.

The growth was primarily driven by domestic transactions, which rose at faster pace of 10.2% to ₹1.41 lakh crore, official data released on Saturday showed.

Experts said GST collections could go up further going forward. "The robust GST collection figures indicate that the Indian economy is withstanding global economic challenges," said Saurabh Agarwal, partner, EY.

The economy grew at 6.2% in the third quarter of FY25, up from an upwardly revised 5.6% in the previous quarter, aided by rural consumption following a good monsoon and higher government spending.

The growth in GST collections from imports moderated to 5.4% in February to ₹41,702 crore. Traditionally, February collections are lower on account of the month having only 28 days.

"GST collections growth of 10.2% on domestic supplies and overall growth of 9.1% indicates a potential revival of the economy for Q4," said Abhishek Jain, indirect tax head & partner at KPMG. "If the Maha Kumbh effect comes into play, the growth next month could be even better."

Most of the manufacturing states performed well. "The GST collections in large manufacturing and consuming states like Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, MP, Karnataka have shown handsome increases in the range of 10% to 20%," said MS Mani, tax partner at Deloitte.

CGST Kitty at Rs 35,204 cr

The growth was in the low range of 1% to 4% in some large states like Telangana, Gujarat, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

The government increased disbursement of domestic and export refunds, including those related to inverted duty structures. For February, refunds stood at Rs 20,889 crore, up 17.3% from the same period last year.

“This trend suggests a potential move towards resolving inverted duty issues across various sectors in a short run, which would streamline administrative processes for both the government and taxpayers,” Agarwal said.

The mopup from central GST stood at Rs 35,204 crore, state GST at Rs 43,704 crore, integrated GST at Rs 90,870 crore. The cess collection for the month under consideration was Rs 13,868 crore, reaching Rs 1.41 lakh crore for the current financial year.

The overall GST collections from April to February were at Rs 20.123 lakh crore, up 9.4% from the year-ago period.