The collection from Goods and Services Tax (GST) rose by over 8 per cent in February, according to data released by the Finance Ministry on Sunday. Experts interpret this growth as evidence of sustained consumption growth.
GST collection in January recorded a growth of over 6 per cent. However, that collection was for 31 days, while collection in February was for only 28 days, making the growth rate in the month under consideration more significant.
Data placed on GST portal showed that while domestic collection grew by over 5 per cent, collection from imported goods increased by over 17 per cent. These two factors contributed to gross collection growth to over 8 per cent. According to M S Mani, Partner at Deloitte India, the GST collection figures reflect the fact that there has been a consumption uptick, that has more than compensated for the rate reductions, leading to an 8 per cent increase in the monthly collections.
“However, in terms of absolute numbers, the collections which were inching towards ₹2 lakh crore per month, the rate reductions have pulled it back and it will take some more time for the ₹2 lakh crore mark to emerge,” he said.
Bigger States such as Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh showed growth rates of 6 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively. However, these figures are lower than national average. Also, States such as Tamil Nadu ( -6 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (-8 per cent) and Rajasthan (-1 per cent) showed negative growth. However, experts found some encouraging trend in other states. “The strong uptick in States such as Jammu & Kashmir, Bihar, Sikkim, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Odisha and Ladakh reflects the deepening of economic activity across the breadth of the country, signalling that growth is becoming broader‑based than ever,” said Saurabh Agarwal, Tax Partner, EY India.
Furthermore he said that this performance reaffirms the strength of India’s consumption engine, which remains a critical pillar of the nation’s growth trajectory. “As structural reforms continue to take hold, these trends highlight a maturing tax ecosystem and a confident domestic market—setting the stage for sustained and inclusive economic momentum,” he said.
Vivek Jalan, Partner at Tax Connect Advisory Services felt that the impact of GST 2.0 was clearly showing on the domestic consumption. The uptick has kept the February 2026 net GST collections from domestic consumption at ₹1.25 lakh crore, growing against Feb 2025 by 6.2 per cent, even after the reduced GST rates from September 2025; “If we incorporate in the impact of the GST 2.0 Rate reduction, the y-o-y growth would be even more,” he said.
According to Jalan, the Year-to-Date GST numbers also reflect the robustness of the Indian economy, in that even after rate rationalization under GST 2.0, the net GST collections from domestic consumption stand at ₹13.37 lakh crore, which is still a growth of 4.9 per cent as against ₹12.75 lakh crore achieved in FY 2024-25.
Published on March 1, 2026