Feb GST collection nears ₹1.84L-cr as biz activity picks up

Net GST collections in February managed an 8.1% y-o-y growth at ₹1,62,758 crore with a 17.3% jump in refunds at ₹20,889 crore as compared to ₹17,810 crore refunded in the same month of 2024

The Gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue in February neared ₹1.84 lakh crore, posting a 9.1% year-on-year increase on the back of strong domestic business activity, according to official data released on Saturday.

Experts said despite global geopolitical turbulence domestic economic activity remained strong, which was reflected in the GST numbers in February. GST collections for February reflect actual business transactions made in January. (Representational image)

The gross GST collections in February that stood at ₹1,83,646 crore were, however, lower than the ₹1,95,506 crore collected in the previous month (January), the date showed.

Net GST collections in February managed an 8.1% y-o-y growth at ₹1,62,758 crore with a 17.3% jump in refunds at ₹20,889 crore as compared to ₹17,810 crore refunded in the same month of 2024.

According to the data, gross GST collections from domestic businesses in February 2025 totalled ₹1,41,945 crore, recording 10.2% annualised growth, but gross collections from imports were merely ₹41,702 crore, showing only 5.4% growth. Net domestic collections (post refunds) were ₹1,31,178 crore, posting a 9.3% annualised growth as compared to a 3.6% increase in import revenues at ₹31,579 crore.

“GST collections growth of 10.2% on domestic supplies and overall growth of 9.1% indicates a potential revival of the economy for Q4. If the Maha Kumbh effect comes into play, the next month growth could be even better,” Abhishek Jain, Indirect Tax Head & Partner, KPMG, said.

MS Mani, partner at Deloitte India, said the trend of GST collections on domestic transactions growing at a healthy 10% plus seen during the current year has continued this month as well. “However, the GST collections on imports during the month slowed down to 5.4%. This needs to be correlated with the GDP data on domestic consumption and imports,” he said.

Low collections have been reported from major states such as Telangana, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. While Telangana reported a mere 1% y-o-y growth in February revenue at ₹5,280 crore, Gujarat registered 3% growth in the same month at ₹11,402 crore, Andhra Pradesh ₹3,817 crore (registering 4% growth) and Odisha ₹5,344 crore (4% growth).

“While GST collections in large manufacturing and consuming states like Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka have shown handsome increases in the range of 10% to 20%, a detailed evaluation on the reasons for the low growth in the range of 1% to 4% in Telangana, Gujarat, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha could provide reasons on the factors responsible for the growth in GST collections,” Mani said.