Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenues continued to show steady expansion in February, with collections touching Rs 1.83 lakh crore, reflecting resilient economic activity and improving compliance as the financial year draws to a close, according to official data released by the government.The latest figures take the total GST collections for FY26 (till February 28) to Rs 20.27 lakh crore, representing an increase of 8.3% year-on-year.Refunds during February stood at Rs 22,595 crore, up 10.2% year-on-year, resulting in net GST revenue of Rs 1.61 lakh crore for the month. Net revenue fell to Rs 5,063 crore compared to Rs 13,481 crore in February last year.Total domestic revenue rose 5.3% to Rs 1.36 lakh crore, while total import revenue increased 17.2% to Rs 47,837 lakh crore, indicating stronger business-related tax collections.
MS Mani, partner, Deloitte India, said the data reflects improving consumption trends supported by broader macroeconomic strength. “The increased consumption that led to an 8% increase in monthly and annual collections is also supported by the strong GDP data and other macroeconomic indicators published recently,” Mani said.While collections were earlier approaching the Rs 2 trillion monthly mark, rate rationalization has eased the pace and “it will take more time for the Rs 2 trillion mark to emerge”, he added.
At the state level, Maharashtra contributed the highest pre-settlement GST revenue at Rs 10,286 crore, followed by Karnataka and Gujarat.States that showed positive GST growth after the settlement included Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, among others. Negative growth was recorded in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir.Commenting on the regional trends, Mani said: “The negative growth reported by major states like Tamil Nadu (-6%), MP (-8%), Rajasthan (-1%), and single digit growth below the national average of 8% reported by WB (1%), Haryana (2%), UP (5%) and Maharashtra (6%), will be a matter of concern for states and policy makers.”Manoj Mishra, partner and head of tax controversy at Grant Thornton Bharat, said the collection indicates stable financial momentum.
“The total February GST collections of INR 1.83 lakh crore, representing an increase of 8.1% year-on-year, reaffirms the steady fiscal momentum as we approach the end of FY26,” he said, adding that revenues remain steady even on an elevated base.He noted that domestic revenues grew moderately while revenues from import-related goods and services showed stronger expansion, reflecting trade activity and improved compliance. “Equally important is that recoveries rose by 10.2%, with net revenues continuing to register a healthy increase of 7.9%.
“This indicates the maturity of the GST architecture that balances revenue strength with timely liquidity flows for businesses,” Mishra said.Abhishek Jain, partner and head of indirect tax at KPMG, said: “The 8.1% rise in monthly GST collections post GST 2.0 rate rationalization indicates steady economic momentum and improvement in compliance. The growth reflects a combination of resilient consumption supported by GST rate rationalization, formalization of businesses, and improved implementation through technology-based monitoring.”
