On February 1, 2026, as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her ninth consecutive Union Budget, India's Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for January 2026 demonstrated robust performance, reaching ₹1.93 lakh crore. This represents a 6.2% increase compared to the ₹1.82 lakh crore collected in January 2025. The healthy growth in GST revenue reflects stable consumption patterns and improved tax compliance within the country.
The gross GST receipts for the cumulative period of April to January of the 2025-26 financial year amounted to ₹18.43 lakh crore, registering an 8.3% year-on-year expansion from ₹17.01 lakh crore in the prior fiscal year. This upward trend in collections aligns with projections of India's economy growing between 6.8% and 7.8% for the fiscal year.
A closer examination of the GST data reveals that the increase in revenue was partly fueled by a significant surge in GST collected from imports. In January 2026, import-related GST revenue climbed by 10.1% to ₹52,253 crore. For the April-January FY26 period, this segment grew by a substantial 13.4%, reaching ₹4.93 lakh crore. GST from domestic transactions rose a more modest 4.8% year-on-year to ₹1.41 lakh crore, reflecting stable but moderated consumption trends.
After accounting for refunds, the net GST revenue for January came in at ₹1.71 lakh crore, marking a sharper annual rise of 7.6%. Total refunds declined marginally by 3.1% to ₹22,665 crore.
In her budget speech, Sitharaman highlighted that the Budget 2026 is 'Yuva Shakti' driven with a threefold approach that requires a supportive ecosystem. The threefold approach includes accelerating and sustaining economic growth by enhancing competitiveness, fulfilling aspirations of people, and ensuring every family, community, and region has access to resources and opportunities. Sitharaman also highlighted six key areas of focus in Budget 2026: scaling up manufacturing across seven strategic and frontier sectors, rejuvenating legacy industries, creating champion MSMEs, giving a strong push to infrastructure, ensuring long-term security and stability, and developing city economic regions.
Sitharaman made history on Sunday by presenting her ninth consecutive Union Budget. Measures such as stamp duty reductions, easier access to home loans, and incentives for first-time buyers can reassure end-users and increase demand. The government has set a capital expenditure target for FY27 at Rs 12.2 lakh crore.
Effective September 22, 2025, GST rates on about 375 items were slashed, making goods cheaper. Also, a compensation cess is levied only on tobacco and related products, as opposed to luxury, sin and demerit goods earlier. The lowering of GST rates has impacted revenue collections.
