India's May GST collections rise 3.2% to 1.94 lakh crore

India's gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for May rose 3.2 percent year-on-year to approximately 1.94 lakh crore rupees, according to data released by the Finance Ministry. The figures indicate a mixed economic picture, with domestic collections softening while import-linked revenue showed significant strength.

Net GST collections, after accounting for refunds, reached 1.66 lakh crore rupees, a growth of 3.3 percent over the same month last year. A key factor in interpreting the headline figure is a one-time payment of roughly 10,000 crore rupees made by a telecom operator for spectrum allocation in May of the previous year. Officials noted that adjusting for this one-off payment reveals stronger underlying growth trends, with adjusted gross and net collections expanding by approximately 9 to 10 percent.

A detailed breakdown shows gross domestic GST revenue for May was 1.34 lakh crore rupees, a decline of 2.6 percent from a year earlier. In contrast, revenue from imports surged 19.1 percent year-on-year to 59,654 crore rupees. Ministry sources stated the bulk of this import growth is driven by raw materials and intermediate goods feeding industrial production...