GST collections rise 22.9% to Rs 2.31 lakh crore in October, the second-highest month on record

India's gross goods and services tax (GST) collections rose 22.9% year on year to Rs 2.31 lakh crore in October, according to provisional government data released on Sunday, 1 November, per Mint, Hindustan Times, CNBC-TV18 and The Times of India. This piece is as of the evening of 1 November.

The figures

Hindustan Times gives gross collections as Rs 2,31,290 crore against Rs 1,88,125 crore in October 2025, excluding compensation cess, and says the figures reflect transactions in September. Import-linked revenue rose 42.2% to Rs 72,246 crore, from Rs 50,796 crore a year earlier, per CNBC-TV18 and The Times of India, and domestic collections rose 15.8% to Rs 1,59,044 crore, per CNBC-TV18 and Hindustan Times; The Times of India gives Rs 1.59 lakh crore. After refunds of Rs 27,934 crore, up 6.5%, net collections rose 25.6% to Rs 2,03,356 crore from Rs 1,61,900 crore (Hindustan Times). For April to October, gross collections rose 13.2% from Rs 13.05 lakh crore; Mint gives the total as Rs 14.78 lakh crore and CNBC-TV18 as Rs 14.77 lakh crore; The Times of India carries both figures. The Hindu BusinessLine carries the headline figure as Rs 2.32 lakh crore but Rs 2.31 lakh crore in its text.

How it ranks

Mint says October was the second-highest monthly collection on record, after Rs 2.43 trillion in April 2026, and the fastest growth since September 2022. Hindustan Times gives April 2026 as Rs 2,42,702 crore and notes that April 2025 was higher in unadjusted terms, at Rs 2,36,716 crore, but lower at Rs 2,23,265 crore after deducting cess that no longer applies. It quotes Deloitte India's M S Mani as saying that for the first time both gross and net collections reached these levels in a normal month; Hindustan Times adds that April typically includes year-end reconciliations.

Reading the growth

Mint says growth was helped by a favourable base: October 2025 growth was 4.6%, and that month was the first full month after rate rationalisation took effect in September. Madhavi Arora, chief economist at Emkay Global, said October's growth reflected sequential gains and the base effect, per Mint. EY India's Saurabh Agarwal said it remains significant given the lower rates, since the structure moved from four main slabs to largely two, at 5% and 18%, with 40% for select demerit and luxury goods (Mint). The Hindu BusinessLine quotes Grant Thornton Bharat's Manoj Mishra saying import collections can be influenced by volumes, commodity prices and the value of imports, so domestic growth remains an important indicator to watch. Mint says imports contributed 31% of gross collections.

On the states, CNBC-TV18 lists Maharashtra at Rs 35,150 crore, up 13%, and Karnataka at Rs 15,922 crore, up 18%. The Times of India gives the same figures and describes the 3.4% refund rise of Rs 13,927 crore as refunds on imports, while CNBC-TV18 and Mint describe it as export-related refunds processed through ICEGATE.