GST Turns 8, Modi Hails Reform as Path-breaking
Commenting on the robust growth in the GST mop-up, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it “a path-breaking legislation for New India
New Delhi: With the completion of eight years, implementing the goods and services tax (GST) — one of the country’s biggest tax reforms, India has broken all the stereotypes by showcasing a perfect balance between Centre and state administrations and coming together to make decisions and resolve issues as well.
Back on July 1, 2017, the GST was rolled out with a promise that the country will bring ‘one nation, one tax’ by merging various indirect taxes under one umbrella. As of today, it is part of every common man's daily lives; from a cup of tea to a car almost everything he/she buys has a GST added to his/her bill.
As per the government data released on Monday, the gross GST collections doubled in five years to reach an all-time high of Rs 22.08 lakh crore in the 2024-25 fiscal year, from Rs 11.37 lakh crore in FY21, registering a 9.4 per cent growth over the previous fiscal year.
Commenting on the robust growth in the GST mop-up, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it “a path-breaking legislation for New India.” Eight years after its launch, GST has proven transformative — recording Rs 22.08 lakh crore in collections for 2024-25, driven by economic formalisation, better compliance, and impactful government reforms,” he said.
However, July 1 every year, India reflects on this day to recognise and evaluate the positive impact of GST implementation on the economy, as well as to create a wish list of activities paving the way for improvements. “Since its rollout, the GST has shown strong growth in revenue collection and tax base expansion. It has steadily strengthened India’s fiscal position and made indirect taxation more efficient and transparent,” the government said.
The data further showed that the average monthly collection stood at Rs 1.84 lakh crore in FY25, up from Rs 1.68 lakh crore in FY24 and Rs 1.51 lakh crore in FY22. “In eight years, the number of registered taxpayers under GST has risen from 65 lakh in 2017 to over 1.51 crore,” the data showed.
The GST, the government said, subsumed about 17 local taxes and 13 cesses into a five-tier structure, simplifying the tax regime. “Monthly GST collection had touched a record high of Rs 2.37 lakh crore in April 2025. In May 2025, it was at Rs 2.01 lakh crore. The numbers for June will be released on Tuesday,” it added. #End#
