Currency movement: rupee pares gains despite foreign inflows, remaining sensitive to geopolitical risks and US macro data.
The rupee showed intraday strength then pared gains, settling marginally higher as foreign fund inflows and strong domestic indicators-notably GST collections and an improved manufacturing PMI-supported the currency, while markets remained sensitive to geopolitical risks and US macro releases; contemporaneous influences included dollar index weakness, lower crude prices, equity gains and foreign institutional buying.

Market sentiment lifts benchmark on FII inflows and trade optimism, supported by strong GST and manufacturing signals.
Sensex closed higher driven by foreign institutional inflows and hopes of an India-US trade deal, amid high GST collections and stronger manufacturing PMI; selective buying in banking and IT stocks and company-specific earnings and forecasts produced notable sectoral gains while broader markets remained cautious after intra-day volatility.

India US trade deal hopes and sustained foreign investment fuel equity rally amid strong GST receipts and easing oil prices.
Equity benchmarks rose on investor optimism from a potential India US trade agreement and ongoing foreign institutional investor inflows; sustained FII buying, driven by dollar weakness and favourable macro trends, plus strong corporate earnings, lifted major indices. Record-high Goods and Services Tax receipts signalled economic resilience and cooperative federalism, while falling crude prices and positive global market cues further supported the rally.

Currency movement: rupee appreciation driven by foreign inflows and strong GST data, but geopolitical risks may reverse gains.
Rupee appreciation was driven by sustained foreign fund inflows and strong Goods and Services Tax collections, which together supported domestic equities and strengthened the currency. However, analysts warned that regional geopolitical tensions and external factors such as the dollar index and oil prices could quickly reverse gains and reintroduce volatility into the forex market.

De-escalation diplomacy urged to reduce tensions and secure cross-border cooperation following a major terror attack.
The United States urged India and Pakistan to de-escalate tensions after the Pahalgam terror attack and to cooperate on investigations; Indian authorities pledged vigorous counterterrorism action and the NIA reported a detained suspect could reveal ongoing and future terror plans. Concurrently, a high court ordered removal of allegedly offensive social media content in a contempt proceeding, GST collections and exports reached record highs, and political contention grew over a proposed caste census.

Goods and Services Tax collections signal economic resilience and strengthened cooperative federalism after higher domestic and import receipts.
Record aggregate receipts under the Goods and Services Tax system were reported for April, driven by higher domestic transaction GST and import-related GST; after a notable increase in refunds issuance, net and post-refund collections rose year-on-year, with separate reporting of central, state, integrated GST and cess components.

HSN code reporting: Third phase mandate requires enhanced table 12 and table 13 reporting for GSTR 1 returns from May.
From the May return period of 2025, Phase Three on the GST Portal will make enhanced HSN Code reporting in table 12 of GSTR-1/1A mandatory according to Aggregate Annual Turnover criteria, and will also mandate completion of the documents list in table 13; taxpayers must update filings per the portal advisory.

GST revenue growth signals stronger economic activity and higher net collections after increased refunds and year end reconciliations.
GST receipts rose year on year in April due to stronger domestic transactions, higher import duties and year end reconciliations; refund disbursements also increased, affecting gross versus net collections, with central, state, integrated GST and cess components reported separately and advisers linking the rise to economic activity and accelerated refund processing.

GST revenue: gross Rs. 2,36,716 crore and net Rs. 2,09,376 crore in April 2025, provisional figures.
Total gross GST receipts for April 2025 were Rs. 2,36,716 crore (12.6% growth) and total net GST receipts were Rs. 2,09,376 crore (9.1% growth). Gross domestic revenue was Rs. 1,89,803 crore and gross import revenue Rs. 46,913 crore. Total refunds rose to Rs. 27,341 crore, producing net domestic revenue of Rs. 1,76,418 crore and net customs revenue of Rs. 32,958 crore. Post-settlement SGST figures reflect an ad-hoc Rs. 23,000 crore recovery from IGST balances, which suppresses reported settlement growth.

Goods and Services Tax receipts rise to highest level, driven by domestic and import revenue with higher refunds.
Goods and Services Tax receipts rose to an all time high in April, with year on year growth in gross collections driven by increases in domestic transaction revenue and stronger growth in import related revenue; refunds rose substantially and, after adjustment, net GST collections nevertheless recorded positive year on year growth.

Licence fee hikes drive claimed revenue spike while traders warn of business closures without fee relief.
Tripura's excise revenue from liquor has increased markedly, with the Excise Department attributing growth to higher consumption and enforcement, while IMFL shop owners contend the rise is driven mainly by substantial hikes in annual licence fees since 2018 that have made retail operations difficult and led to some closures.

Cess sharing threatened as central government retains petrol-diesel cess revenue, reducing states' fiscal share and autonomy.
The central government imposed and retained a cess on petrol and diesel and raised central excise duty, collecting substantial receipts from petroleum taxes and various cesses and surcharges which, it is alleged, have not been shared with states; these untransferred and unspent cesses, together with revenue forgone due to central tax concessions, are said to have reduced states' share of the divisible fiscal pool and constrained their fiscal autonomy, undermining cooperative federalism.

Conditional central funding restricted by onerous land and subsidy terms, prompting the state to return grants and self fund the project.
The state rejected conditional central funding for a medical device park because the offer required transferring valuable land at nominal rates, providing long term subsidised utilities and services, and granting substantial GST rebates-measures the government judged would impose significant fiscal burdens and undermine state revenue-so it returned received central funds and chose to proceed with the project using state resources to retain control and protect public finances.

GST on UPI transactions clarified: no GST applies because MDR on P2M UPI was removed and no proposal exists.
Claims that GST will be levied on UPI transactions are unfounded; no such proposal exists. GST applies to charges like the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR), and the CBDT removed MDR for Person to Merchant UPI transactions effective January 2020. Because no MDR is currently charged on UPI transactions, GST is not applicable. The Government supports UPI through an Incentive Scheme for low value P2M transactions, with disclosed allocations confirming ongoing policy support.

GST registration requirements: officers must accept prescribed documents and avoid seeking non-essential additional proofs.
CBIC instructs officers to process GST registration applications based only on the prescribed list of documents and case-specific requisites, prohibit notices or requests for non-essential additional documents or minor discrepancies, and require Deputy/Assistant Commissioner approval before seeking any document outside the listed requirements; zonal chiefs must monitor compliance and address officer deviations.

Excise policy extension signals revenue recovery while a new transparent policy is drafted to address past irregularities.
Delhi's excise receipts show year on year growth from 2021-22 through 2024-25, with 2024-25 provisional pending final excise duty and VAT data. The government continues an extended pre 2021 excise policy-operational since September 2022 and periodically renewed-under which four state corporations run over 700 retail liquor vends. Authorities are drafting a new excise policy focused on transparency and best practices to bolster revenue and respond to earlier allegations of irregularities.

GST rebate for hotels in hinterland to incentivise investment, hospital projects and local employment in targeted talukas.
The state budget provides a GST rebate alongside exemptions from stamp duty and registration and waivers of other processing charges for investors who establish hotels of at least three star standard or hospitals in specified hinterland talukas; eligibility depends on project standard and location, and implementation follows legislative passage and administrative rules to operationalise and verify the concessions.

Case-insensitive invoice numbers: IRN generation will convert invoice numbers to uppercase to prevent duplication.
IRP invoice/document numbers will be treated as case-insensitive for IRN generation from 1 June 2025; reported invoice numbers in any letter case will be automatically converted to uppercase prior to IRN creation to ensure consistency and prevent duplication, aligning IRN processing with GSTR 1 treatment.

Special parliamentary session demanded to address inflation and require a white paper after recent fuel and LPG price hikes.
Congress demanded a special session of Parliament and issuance of a white paper on inflation following recent administrative increases in excise and retail rates for petrol, diesel, LPG and CNG; it called for immediate price reductions, a strict price-control policy, a targeted relief package for women and the poor, and an independent CAG audit into alleged corporate profiteering.

Audit of policy impact demanded as CAG, CVC and CBI probes are urged into excise duty benefits.
Allegations that excise duty increases burden consumers while benefiting oil companies prompted calls for a comprehensive audit by the national audit institution and for criminal and vigilance investigators to examine whether policy design or implementation involved negligence or collusion, with a view to publicly accounting for petroleum-sector receipts and fixing responsibility.