India’s gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection rose 4.6% year-on-year to around ₹1.96 lakh crore in October 2025, supported by robust festive demand despite a broad reduction in GST rates.
The growth came even after the government slashed GST rates on 375 items — including daily essentials, electronics, and automobiles — effective September 22, coinciding with the start of Navratri, a key festive shopping period.
Officials said the October collection reflected strong consumer spending during the festive season and pent-up demand that had built up in anticipation of the rate cuts. Many buyers delayed purchases after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in his Independence Day address that GST rates would be lowered before Diwali.
According to data released on Saturday, October’s mop-up of ₹1.96 lakh crore was up from ₹1.87 lakh crore collected in the same month last year. In comparison, August and September saw slightly lower revenues at ₹1.86 lakh crore and ₹1.89 lakh crore, respectively.
While the growth rate of 4.6% is below the 9% average seen in previous months, analysts noted that the rate cut and refunds impacted the pace of increase.
Domestic GST revenue, indicating local consumption, rose 2% to ₹1.45 lakh crore, while revenue from imports jumped 13% to ₹50,884 crore. Refunds surged 39.6% to ₹26,934 crore compared with the previous year.
Net GST revenue for October stood at ₹1.69 lakh crore, reflecting a marginal 0.2% year-on-year rise.
