India’s March GST Collections Cross Rs 2 Lakh Crore Mark, Buoyed by Surge in Imports

New Delhi: With robust tax collections from imports, domestic sales and purchases, India’s gross goods and services tax (GST) collections jumped 8.8 per cent year-on-year to cross the Rs 2 lakh crore, registering the third highest monthly collection in the 2025-26 fiscal. At the same time, the net GST revenue for March 2026 stood at about Rs 1.78 lakh crore, posting an annual growth of 8.2 per cent after accounting for refunds, the government said on Wednesday.

As per the finance ministry’s data, the March 2026 GST revenue witnessed the third-highest collection in the 2025-26 fiscal (April-March), with April 2025 recording the highest-ever GST revenues at over Rs 2.36 lakh crore, followed by May’s collection at over Rs 2.01 lakh crore. “For the full 2025-26 fiscal, GST collections grew 8.3 per cent year-on-year to over Rs 22.27 lakh crore,” the ministry said.

As per the data, the ministry also said that refund issuance during March rose 13.8 per cent to Rs 22,074 crore. “After adjusting refunds, net GST revenues in March stood at about Rs 1.78 lakh crore, up 8.2 per cent year-on-year,” the ministry said adding that that the gross domestic revenues rose 5.9 per cent to over Rs 1.46 lakh crore, while those from imports grew 17.8 per cent to Rs 53,861 crore during the month, while gross GST mop-up was Rs 1.83 lakh crore in March 2025.

The GST rates on about 375 items were slashed, making goods cheaper, effective September 2025. Also, four tax slabs of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent were merged into two of 5 and 18 per cent, with the highest 40 per cent slab for a select few ultra luxury goods and tobacco products.

The GST collection initially dipped in the first month of tax cut implementation, with revenues declining to Rs 1.70 lakh crore in November. It rose to Rs 1.74 lakh crore in December and further to Rs 1.93 lakh crore in January. In February, it was over Rs 1.83 lakh crore.

Deloitte India Partner M S Mani said that while these collections indicate that the consumption sentiment continues to be strong, it is interesting to see that the 8 per cent plus growth in the gross GST collections has been significantly helped by the very strong collections in the import GST numbers. “There has been a significant increase in imports, which has contributed to the GST collections on imports; this would also have led to a significant increase in the customs duty collections," Mani said.

While large states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana continue to show robust growth in collections, states such as Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh demonstrate slower growth. “Looking ahead in April, we anticipate a cautious trajectory. Geopolitical headwinds and global inflationary pressures are likely to compress consumption demand,” EY India Tax Partner Saurabh Agarwal said.