Growth weakened sharply towards the end of 2025 and remained subdued in early 2026 before accelerating from June. At the same time, import-linked GST has grown much faster than revenue from domestic transactions, while refunds have also risen.
GST growth dipped, then recovered
The monthly data shows that GST growth lost momentum soon after the rate changes took effect. Gross GST growth fell from 9.1 per cent in September 2025 to 4.6 per cent in October and then turned negative at 3.9 per cent in November. Growth remained subdued through early 2026 before accelerating sharply from June.
By September 2026, gross GST collections had reached ₹2,03,521 crore, up 14.7 per cent year-on-year. Net collections stood at ₹1,76,520 crore.
Across the 12 months from September 2025 to August 2026, gross GST collections were up about 6.1 per cent from the comparable previous period. Net GST rose by around 4.1 per cent.
Imports boost GST revenue
In September 2026, GST revenue from domestic transactions rose 10.1 per cent year-on-year to ₹1,37,996 crore. GST revenue from imports saw a sharper rise, jumping 25.9 per cent to ₹65,525 crore.
The difference becomes clearer when the monthly data is compared over 12-month periods. Between September 2025 and August 2026, domestic GST revenue was around one per cent lower than in the corresponding September 2024-August 2025 period, while import-linked GST revenue was almost 20 per cent higher.
That means the resilience in the headline GST number has not come evenly from the two sources. Import-linked revenue has been the stronger growth component, while domestic collections have been comparatively subdued.
How refunds affected net GST revenue
The difference between gross and net collections also widened because refunds increased over the broader post-reset period.
Refunds totalled ₹27,001 crore in September 2026, down 3 per cent from a year earlier, while net GST collections rose 10.1 per cent.
Over the 12 months to August 2026, however, refunds were about 20.6 per cent higher than in the preceding 12-month period. As a share of gross GST collections, refunds increased from roughly 12.1 per cent to 13.7 per cent.
The increase in refunds meant that growth in net GST revenue lagged the rise in gross collections.
The 2025 rationalisation also sought to address inverted duty structures in sectors including man-made textiles and fertilisers. The GST Council said rates on man-made fibre and yarn were cut to 5 per cent, while rates on sulphuric acid, nitric acid, and ammonia used in fertilisers were also reduced to correct inversion.
Which states are driving the GST base?
The state-level picture remains concentrated among India’s largest economic centres.
In FY2025-26, Maharashtra remained the largest state-level contributor in the data, with ₹3.62 trillion, followed by Karnataka at ₹1.58 trillion and Gujarat at ₹1.35 trillion.
Among the larger states listed, Delhi recorded the strongest year-on-year increase between FY2024-25 and FY2025-26, rising about 4.4 per cent, followed by Haryana at 1.4 per cent and Maharashtra at 0.5 per cent.
Across the financial year 2025–2026, while most regions experienced peak collections in April (due to year-end filing cycles) and tapered off slightly, a few states demonstrated consistent positive upward growth –
Tripura
April 2025: ₹149 Crore
March 2026: ₹197 Crore
Growth: 32.2 per cent
Bihar
April 2025: ₹2,144 Crore
March 2026: ₹2,570 Crore
Growth: 19.9 per cent
E-way bills track trade activity
E-way bills are useful as a high-frequency indicator of goods movement because they capture the movement of taxable goods across the country. They do not cover the entire GST base, particularly services, but they can indicate whether trading and supply-chain activity is expanding.
Based on the E-Way Bill Statistics for March 2026 provided in the dataset, here are the top-performing states ranked across key metrics:
Top States by Highest E-Way Bill Volume:
- Uttar Pradesh: 8,254,046 bills
- Gujarat: 8,258,797 bills
- Haryana: 6,505,123 bills
- West Bengal: 5,012,641 bills
- Punjab: 3,439,941 bills
Top States by Highest Assessable Value
- Gujarat: ₹256,732.10 Cr
- Uttar Pradesh: ₹146,325.66 Cr
- Haryana: ₹109,404.59 Cr
- West Bengal: ₹90,799.89 Cr
- Rajasthan: ₹76,326.39 Cr
Changing GST revenue mix
The data points to four broad conclusions:
- Revenue has remained resilient, although growth slowed immediately after the rate reset before recovering in mid-2026
- Imports have become an increasingly important source of growth, with import-linked GST rising much faster than domestic GST
- Refunds are taking a larger share of gross collections over the broader post-reset period, even though September 2026 itself saw refunds fall 3 per cent
- The revenue base remains concentrated among major economic states, while e-way bill activity indicates continued goods movement
Note :
The above numbers are provisional and the actual numbers may slightly vary on finalisation
