Bouncing back: April's net GST kitty at fresh high of ₹2.09 trillion

Net receipt from FY25 transactions increases 8%

India’s net goods and services tax (GST) receipts grew 9.1 per cent in April to hit a fresh monthly record of over ₹2.09 trillion, making a significant improvement over the mild 7.3 per cent uptick in revenues this March, despite a 40 per cent sequential surge in refunds.

  April’s gross GST revenues, based on transactions done in March, rose 12.6 per cent to almost ₹2.37 trillion, with  the collection from domestic transactions up 10.7 per cent and import revenues rising by a sharper 20.8 per cent. Apart from financial year-end compliances and production targets, taxation experts attributed some of the rise in import revenues and refunds to exporters’ rush to beat the US’ impending ‘Liberation Day’ trade tariff plans. 

 

Business Standard calculations, based on the provisional GST tally released on Thursday, peg the growth in net GST revenues from transactions concluded in 2024-25 at a tad over 8 per cent, with gross receipts rising 9.5 per cent.

 

Net revenues from economic activity in FY25 grew to over ₹19.73 trillion from ₹18.26 trillion a year earlier. Total receipts pertaining to the FY25 activity stood at ₹22,35,310 crore, compared to ₹20,41,481 crore for FY24 transactions. 

In April, refunds for domestic transactions grew 22.4 per cent, while GST refunds to exporters shot up 86.1 per cent to nearly ₹14,000 crore.

 

At ₹27,341 crore, total refunds were up 48.3 per cent from a year ago, and 39.3 per cent higher than March. 

 “The trend of increase in refunds observable during the past few months indicates that the online refund processes have now achieved a good degree of stability,” said M S Mani, partner at   India. “The net GST collections crossing ₹2 trillion in April indicates a strong economic performance in the last month of the previous financial year as these relate to transactions in goods and services in March,” he added.

 

“The figures showcase the resilience of the Indian economy and the effectiveness of cooperative federalism,” said Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman in a social media post, expressing ‘deepest gratitude’ to taxpayers for their ‘faith in the GST architecture’. She also conveyed her regards for the efforts of “Finance Ministers of all states and state GST authorities, who remain equal partners in India’s GST framework”.

 

The notable 20 per cent increase in import refunds is a consequence of an increase in exports of finished goods which contain imported input items.

 

As the government refunds GST levies on imported inputs used in exports, the rise in revenues from imports and refunds to exporters in April, suggests a positive influence of substantial exports to the US market prior to the announcement of reciprocal tariffs, indicated Saurabh Agarwal, tax partner at EY.

 

“While a potential moderation in absolute GST collections is anticipated in the next six month due to the current global economic climate, the overall outlook for the Indian economy remains optimistic. This positive sentiment is fueled by emerging manufacturing opportunities as businesses seek to establish alternative supply chains globally to mitigate future tariff-related disruptions,” said Agarwal.  

 

Abhishek Jain, indirect tax head and partner at KPMG said the record GST collections in April “reflect ongoing recovery and growth”, but “a significant contributor is also the year-end reconciliation process, which typically results in additional tax payments by businesses to align their returns during the year”.