New Delhi, Jan 1 (PTI) The gross GST collection rose 7.3 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1.77 lakh crore in December despite significant increase in both domestic and export refunds.

The Central GST collection stood at Rs 32,836 crore, State GST at Rs 40,499 crore, Integrated IGST at Rs 47,783 crore and Cess at Rs 11,471 crore, according to government data released on Wednesday.

The total gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue grew 7.3 per cent to Rs 1.77 lakh crore in December as compared to Rs 1.65 lakh crore in the same month a year ago, it said.

During the month under review, GST from domestic transactions grew 8.4 per cent to Rs 1.32 lakh crore, while revenues from tax on imports rose about 4 per cent to Rs 44,268 crore.

In November, GST mop-up was Rs 1.82 lakh crore with 8.5 per cent annual growth. The highest-ever collection was in April 2024 at over Rs 2.10 lakh crore.

During the month, refunds worth Rs 22,490 crore were issued, registering 31 per cent increase over the year-ago period. After adjusting refunds, net GST collection increased by 3.3 per cent to Rs 1.54 lakh crore.

MS Mani, partner, Deloitte India said,"While the overall GST collections are showing a y-o-y increase of 8.6 per cent, it needs to be borne in mind that this is despite an increase of 13.5 per cent in respect of refunds, signifying the stability in GST collections and a good GST framework for refund processing." The significant increase in both domestic and export refunds indicates that the overall refund framework is now stable and its implementation on a sound footing, he said.

Further, the year-to-date growth by CGST formations in GST revenue is 10.8 per cent and SGST formations is 9.6 per cent, Vivek Jalan, partner Tax Connect Advisory Services LLP said.

This may reflect to the fact that possibly the division of taxpayers between the Centre and states may be scrutinized going forward by the GST Council, Jalan said.

According to Pratik Jain, partner, PwC India, given the slowdown in GST collections, it will be interesting to see if the government takes specific measures to boost consumption in the upcoming budget.

One of the ways to boost consumption is to rationalise the GST rates, which the GST Council is working on, Jain added.

GST collections growth of 7.3 per cent is in line with bit of a slowdown in GDP growth and it is expected to pick up in this quarter which would be mirrored by GST numbers, Abhishek Jain, partner, KPMG said. PTI DP ANU

GST revenue growth and rising refunds point to potential GST Council review and consideration of rate rationalisation. Gross GST collections rose 7.3% to Rs 1.77 lakh crore in December and, after higher refunds, net GST receipts increased 3.3%. Domestic and import-linked GST both grew while refunds, including export refunds, materially rose, indicating a stabilised refund framework. Commentators note potential GST Council scrutiny of taxpayer division and possible rate rationalisation as measures to boost consumption.