GST collections rise 11% in June driven by robust import revenues

While net GST collections, after adjusting for refunds, increased to ₹1.62 trillion, gross GST collections rose to ₹1.95 trillion

Gross and net goods and services tax (GST) collections rose 13.9 per cent and 11.2 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), respectively, in June, with the growth largely driven by robust revenues from imports even as domestic collections remained subdued. 

While net GST collections, after adjusting for refunds, increased to ₹1.62 trillion, gross collections rose to ₹1.95 trillion, according to government data released on Wednesday. It is to be noted that June GST numbers reflect economic activity and transactions carried out in May. 

On a sequential basis, net GST revenue declined by 2.7 per cent and gross GST revenue increased by 0.32 per cent compared to May. 

 

The divergence between domestic and import-led collections continued during the month. Gross domestic GST revenue rose 6.5 per cent Y-o-Y to ₹1.35 trillion, while gross revenue from imports jumped 34.6 per cent to ₹60,038 crore, accounting for a significant part of the overall increase. 

After adjusting for refunds, net domestic GST revenue grew just 2.6 per cent to ₹1.17 trillion, reflecting muted growth in underlying domestic transactions. In contrast, net GST revenue from Customs surged 42.2 per cent to ₹45,370 crore. 

GST refunds rose 29.1 per cent to ₹32,436 crore during the month. Domestic refunds increased 42.9 per cent to ₹17,767 crore, while refunds of GST paid on imports rose 15.6 per cent to ₹14,669 crore. 

On a cumulative basis, gross GST collections during the first quarter (April-June) of financial year 2026-27 (Q1FY27) rose 8.4 per cent to ₹6.32 trillion, while net GST collections increased 7.1 per cent to ₹5.40 trillion. 

Vivek Jalan, partner, Tax Connect Advisory Services LLP, noted that June’s numbers highlight both the resilience of domestic consumption and the strength of external trade. “Net GST collections rose by 11.2 per cent, with domestic revenues growing by 2.6 per cent despite the GST 2.0 rate reductions and the ongoing impact of accumulated input tax credit on stocks, expected to last 9-12 months. This shows that consumption remains robust even under structural adjustments,” he said. Jalan added that the GST Council is expected to address challenges such as ITC (input tax credit) accumulation on input services under the inverted duty structure in its next meeting. “Import revenues, which surged 34.6 per cent in June, reflect strong demand for capital goods and raw materials, supported also by pre-deposits for GSTAT (goods and services tax appellate tribunal) appeals and enforcement actions,” he said. 

According to Saurabh Agarwal, tax partner, EY India, the consistent growth in GST collections serves as a clear bellwether of the Indian economy’s underlying resilience. “The accelerated pace of GST refunds underscores the government’s proactive commitment to unlocking business liquidity,” he said. 

Agarwal highlighted the broad-based growth across states and Union Territories like Manipur, Assam, Andaman & Nicobar, and Lakshadweep. However, he cautioned that the rising share of collections from imports warrants closer structural analysis, and suggested redeploying unutilised outlays from production linked incentive (PLI) schemes to boost high-value domestic manufacturing. 

In addition, M S Mani, partner, Deloitte India, pointed out that collections are inching closer to the ₹2 trillion mark despite significant economic disruptions due to the West Asia crisis. “The reduction in GST rates last year has been more than overcome by an expansion in the transaction values... and this is sustainable going forward,” he said. 

Mani expressed optimism that easing of the West Asia situation will lead to even stronger collections in coming months, with ₹2 trillion per month becoming the new normal.