Official data shows that in March 2026, India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections reached ₹2,00,064 crore, an 8.8% year-on-year increase. This was driven by a combination of stable domestic revenues and a significant surge in collections relating to imports.
The month’s growth was spearheaded by a 17.8% spike in import revenues, with domestic collections showing a more moderate 5.9% gain, suggesting that spending patterns will persist despite global uncertainty.
Gross receipts from GST increased by 8.2% to ₹1,77,990 crore when adjusted for refunds. The month saw a 13.8% increase in refunds to ₹22,074 crore, with domestic refunds increasing by more than 31% due to speedier processing and better compliance.
Stable revenue growth and fiscal resilience were highlighted for the full fiscal year 2025-26 with gross GST collections rising 8.3% to ₹22.27 lakh crore and net collections growing 7.1% to ₹19.34 lakh crore.
The persistent outperformance of import-driven collections, which increased by 14.1% year over year compared to domestic revenues’ 6.4% growth, is indicative of strong demand and trade flows.
The overall trend shows robust tax buoyancy in line with India’s GDP growth trajectory of approximately 7%, which strengthens the country’s macroeconomic stability, even when larger refunds moderate net growth.
The fact that GST collections have been above ₹1.7 lakh crore for 12 months in a row shows that economic activity has been going strong and tax compliance has been becoming better.
