India’s GST Collections Cross Rs 2 Lakh Crore In May, Up 16.4% YoY

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for May 2025 rose to Rs 2.01 lakh crore, marking a 16.4% increase compared to Rs 1.72 lakh crore collected in May 2024, indicating steady economic momentum.

This follows a record-breaking April 2025, when GST collections hit an all-time high of Rs 2.37 lakh crore, registering a 12.6% growth.

“While April’s spike was expected due to year-end reconciliations, the sustained growth in May, along with a strong 16% year-on-year jump, points to strong underlying momentum and recovery that is clearly taking hold, said Abhishek Jain, Indirect Tax Head & Partner at KPMG.

The annual growth was largely fueled by a 25.2% rise in GST from imports, suggesting that imports remain strong despite recent tariff challenges. Domestic transaction on the other hand showed a 13.7% increase.

GST from imports amounted to Rs 51,266 crore, while domestic collections reached Rs 1,49,785 crore, according to data released by the Ministry of Finance on Sunday.

Gross GST revenue for May totaled Rs 4.37 lakh crore, reflecting a 14.3% increase over Rs 3.83 lakh crore during the same month last year. After accounting for refunds, the net GST revenue stood at Rs 1,73,841 crore—up 20.4% from Rs 1,44,381 crore in May 2024.

However Refunds for the month came in at Rs 27,210 crore, a 4% decline year-on-year.

“The degrowth in GST refunds this month is largely seen in the category of export of goods with payment of IGST. This could be driven by a mix of factors like changes in export cycles, global supply chain variations, or even a possible shift by exporters toward the LUT-based refund route(which would then be counted towards domestic refunds), explained Jain.

For FY26, the government has projected an 11% rise in GST collections, estimating annual revenue of Rs 11.78 lakh crore, including Central GST and compensation cess.

State-wise data suggest that While Maharashtra, West Bengal, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu reported strong gains between 17% and 25%, other large states like Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana posted modest growth ranging from -2% to 6%. States such as Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan saw mid-range increases around 10%.

Commenting on the data, M S Mani, Partner at Deloitte India, said the robust May collections—coming from transactions in the first month of FY26—offer strong fiscal headroom and align with recent GDP estimates that suggest healthy consumption patterns.

However, Mani noted a significant disparity in state-wise GST growth. These variations, he said, point to possible sectoral or seasonal influences and underscore the need for more granular, data-driven analysis.