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India’s gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections rebounded sharply in January, rising 12.3% from December’s weak 7.3% uptick, to hit their second highest monthly tally of ₹1,95,506 crore, with domestic revenues rising 10% and revenues from imports up 19.8%.
Gross GST inflows had touched a three-month low of just under ₹1.77 lakh crore in December, with growth slipping to the second slowest pace in 43 months. Since its launch in July 2017, the GST regime’s highest monthly intake was recorded in April 2024, when gross receipts were a tad over ₹2.1 lakh crore.
After factoring in refunds to taxpayers, which grew 23.9% to about ₹24,000 crore, net receipts from GST were up 10.9% in January at ₹1,71,653 crore. Net receipts from domestic transactions were up 8%, while those from imports grew 21.7%. This marks a sharp improvement from December, when net receipts rose at just 3.3%, the slowest pace so far this financial year.
On a sequential basis, January’s net GST receipts, linked to transactions undertaken in December, were up 11.2% from December, while gross GST receipts were 10.5% higher.
January’s uptick in receipts lifted the overall growth in net GST revenues in 2024-25 to 8.7% from 8.6% as of December, with collections of almost ₹16.17 lakh crore. The Centre had penned in a growth of 11% in its Budget estimates for 2024-25.
Last month, three States recorded a contraction in GST revenues compared to four in December and seven in November — Mizoram (-10%), Himachal Pradesh (-7%) and Manipur (-1%). GST receipts were flat in Andhra Pradesh after two months of contraction. Thirteen States reported revenue growth below the 10% national average growth in domestic transaction revenues.
“This uptick comes after a muted December growth, which was largely attributed to the post-festive season dip. January’s performance signals a rebound in economic activity, underpinned by strong domestic demand,” said Mahesh Jaising, partner and leader of indirect tax at Deloitte India.
KPMG’s indirect tax head and partner Abhishek Jain said the growth in January collections is notable because it comes despite a significant uptick in refunds, suggesting improved efficiency in refund processing by the tax authorities.
Published – February 01, 2025 06:56 pm IST
