GST Collection Increased 6.5% To Over Rs 1.86 Lakh Crore In August

New Delhi: With the growth of domestic revenues, India’s gross goods and services tax or GST collection increased 6.5 per cent to over Rs 1.86 lakh crore in August 2025 compared to the same month of the previous year. Though, the country’s gross GST mop-up was down as against the preceding month (July 2025) that rose to Rs 1.96 lakh crore, the upcoming festive sales are expected to swell the kitty. However, it peaked at Rs 2.37 lakh crore in April 2025, marking the highest revenue collection since its implementation, the government data said on Monday.

As per the data, the gross domestic revenue grew 9.6 per cent to Rs 1.37 lakh crore, while tax from imports dipped 1.2 per cent to Rs 49,354 crore in August. The GST refunds were down 20 per cent year-on-year to Rs 19,359 crore. The data comes just two days ahead of the meeting of the GST Council, comprising centre and states, which will deliberate on rate rationalisation and reducing the number of tax slabs.

However, tax experts believe that despite global headwinds and geopolitical tensions, the country witnessed a robust domestic consumption, but the August month’s dip in IGST on imports is worrisome. “The significant dip in export refunds is a clear signal of the impact that global tariffs are having on the export sector, but India's growth trajectory remains on a solid footing,” said EY tax partner Saurabh Agarwal.

Icra chief economist Aditi Nayar also said that while CGST and SGST recorded a double-digit expansion, the growth in IGST and cess collections was tepid, dampening the headline GST increase to 6.5 per cent. “The contraction in IGST on imports is puzzling in light of the sharp increase in merchandise imports in July 2025 that would have been reflected in the August 2025 GST data,” Nayar said.