Representative image indicating GST.
Credit: iStock Photo
New Delhi: Revenue collection from Goods and Services Tax (GST) surged by 12.6% per cent year-on-year to hit a record high of Rs 2.37 lakh crore in April, partly due to year-end reconciliation of books by businesses and strong momentum in the economic activities, as per official data released on Thursday.
Majority of the states witnessed healthy expansion in the GST mop-up. Revenue collection in Karnataka, the second-largest contributor to the country’s GST kitty, jumped by 11 per cent to Rs 17,815 crore in April from Rs 15,978 crore recorded in April 2024.
The largest contributor Maharashtra also recorded a healthy 11 per cent surge. In April 2025 Maharashtra’s GST mop-up jumped to Rs 41,645 crore from Rs 37,671 crore recorded in the same month last year.
“The GST collections during the month have been uniformly high in all the major producing/consuming states and have been in the range 11 per cent to 16 per cent, unlike previous months where there were some large states having lower growth,” said M S Mani, Partner at Deloitte India.
During the month of March, Karnataka had posted a sluggish year-on-year growth of 4 per cent. GST revenue collection in Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu were also subdued during the month of March while Maharashtra, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh witnessed growth in excess of 10 per cent.
According to analysts, the year-end reconciliation process, which typically results in additional tax payments by businesses to align their returns during the year, was among the key contributors to the record revenue collection from indirect taxes during the month under review. High transactions in March, the last month of the financial year, is reflected in the April GST collection numbers.
“Due to a significant number of year end transactions which take place in March, traditionally, GST collections for April are significantly higher,” said Karthik Mani, Partner, Indirect Tax, BDO India.
The previous highest GST collection was recorded in April 2024 when it stood at Rs 2.10 lakh crore. During the month of March 2025 it stood at Rs 1.96 lakh crore.
There was a sharp jump in refunds issuance. It surged by 48.3 per cent year-on-year to Rs 27,341 crore in April. After adjusting refunds, net GST collection in April stood at Rs 2.09 lakh crore, which is 9.1 per cent higher when compared with the same month last year.
“Over 12 per cent growth in GST collections in April, despite geopolitical headwinds, is encouraging. Also, it’s good to see that most of the manufacturing states have witnessed double digit growth," said Pratik Jain, Partner, PwC India.
An important contributor to the surge in GST revenue, according to analysts, is also US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. GST revenue from imports surged by 20.8 per cent, while growth from the domestic transactions stood at 10.7 per cent.
“While a potential moderation in absolute GST collections is anticipated next month due to the current global economic climate, the overall outlook for the Indian economy remains optimistic,” said Saurabh Agarwal, Tax Partner, EY India.