AI illustration, not a photo of a real place or person. The figures are from this article: GST collection of ₹2.31 lakh crore in October 2026, up 22.9% on a year earlier.
Why it matters
GST is the main tax on what people buy, and its collections pay for both central and state budgets. Net GST after refunds rose 25.6% in a year to ₹2,03,356 crore in October, so both levels of government have more to spend. Refunds to exporters and other businesses also rose, by 6.5%.
India’s October GST collection came to ₹2,31,290 crore before refunds, 22.9% more than the ₹1,88,125 crore collected in October 2025, according to provisional finance ministry data released on Sunday, 1 November. After refunds, net GST came to ₹2,03,356 crore, up 25.6%.
The figures were reported by the news agencies PTI (Press Trust of India) and ANI (Asian News International) and by Business Today, and all three carry the same numbers. Goods and Services Tax (GST) is the single tax on most goods and services sold in India, shared between the Centre and the states.
Where the October GST collection came from
Most of the gross GST came from sales inside the country. Domestic collections were ₹1,59,044 crore, up 15.8% from ₹1,37,328 crore a year earlier, Business Today reported. GST charged on imports grew much faster, by 42.2%, to ₹72,246 crore from ₹50,796 crore.
The tax has three parts. Central GST (CGST) goes to the Centre, State GST (SGST) to the state where the sale happens, and Integrated GST (IGST) is charged on sales between states and on imports, then divided between the two. In October, CGST brought in ₹42,935 crore, SGST ₹51,340 crore and IGST ₹1,37,015 crore, of which ₹64,769 crore came from domestic trade and ₹72,246 crore from imports.
NewsPlainly checked that the parts add up: the three heads come to ₹2,31,290 crore, and so do domestic plus import collections.
| Item | October 2025 | October 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross GST | ₹1,88,125 crore | ₹2,31,290 crore | +22.9% |
| From domestic sales | ₹1,37,328 crore | ₹1,59,044 crore | +15.8% |
| From imports | ₹50,796 crore | ₹72,246 crore | +42.2% |
| Refunds | ₹26,225 crore | ₹27,934 crore | +6.5% |
| Net GST | ₹1,61,900 crore | ₹2,03,356 crore | +25.6% |
Refunds, money returned to businesses such as exporters who paid more tax than they owed, rose 6.5% to ₹27,934 crore. Of that, ₹14,007 crore was domestic refunds and ₹13,927 crore refunds on exports. Because refunds grew more slowly than collections, net GST rose faster than the gross figure.
None of the three reports read gave an official reason for the jump in import collections, and NewsPlainly has not added one.
GST month by month: October is the second-best month this year
The GST portal’s statistics give official monthly figures for 2026-27 up to September. Put next to the October number, they show how the year has gone so far.
| Month, 2026 | Gross GST (₹ crore) | Above ₹2 lakh crore? |
|---|---|---|
| April | ₹2,42,702 | Yes |
| May | ₹1,94,184 | No |
| June | ₹1,94,812 | No |
| July | ₹2,11,205 | Yes |
| August | ₹1,99,853 | No |
| September | ₹2,03,521 | Yes |
| October (reported) | ₹2,31,290 | Yes |
On these figures, October is the second-highest month of the financial year, behind only April’s ₹2,42,702 crore. October’s total is ₹27,769 crore, or about 13.6%, more than September’s ₹2,03,521 crore. That is NewsPlainly’s calculation.
Gross GST has now crossed ₹2 lakh crore in four of the seven months: April, July, September and October. August narrowly missed, at ₹1,99,853 crore. Imports made up about 31% of October’s gross collection, close to September’s share of about 32%.
The chart below shows the same monthly figures in thousand crore, so ₹2,42,702 crore appears as 242.7.
The portal marks its figures as provisional, which means they can change slightly when the accounts are finalised.
Gross GST from April to October, and in the states
For the first seven months of 2026-27, gross collections were ₹14,77,569 crore, up 13.2% from ₹13,05,213 crore in the same months of last year, Business Today reported. Net collections over the same period were ₹12,69,486 crore, a rise of 12.6%. The October number is in line with the portal: its April to September total of ₹12,46,278 crore plus October’s ₹2,31,290 crore gives the seven-month figure, give or take a crore of rounding.
ANI listed state figures for domestic collections in October. Maharashtra, the largest contributor, collected ₹35,150 crore, up 13%. Karnataka collected ₹15,922 crore (up 18%), Gujarat ₹13,516 crore (up 16%) and Haryana ₹11,529 crore (up 17%). Among the bigger rises, Assam’s collections went up 47% to ₹1,934 crore, while Uttar Pradesh and Bihar each grew 24%, according to ANI, which did not give their amounts.
The state share matters because SGST stays with the state, and part of the Centre’s own taxes is also passed on to states as tax devolution. On 31 October the Centre sent states an extra ₹1.09 lakh crore instalment of tax devolution, separate from these GST figures.
What the October GST collection means, and what comes next
The October GST collection follows the extra tax devolution paid to states a day earlier, but the two are separate: one is tax collected, the other is the states’ share of the Centre’s taxes being paid out.
For the Centre and the states, net GST is the money they actually keep once refunds have gone back to businesses. October’s ₹2,03,356 crore is 25.6% more than in October 2025, although April’s net figure on the GST portal, ₹2,10,910 crore, was higher still.
For businesses, the refund figures are the ones to watch. Exporters and firms that pay more input tax than they collect wait for these refunds, and October’s ₹27,934 crore was 6.5% higher than a year earlier.
When NewsPlainly checked on 1 November, the GST portal’s monthly statistics ran only to September, so the October figures in this article come from the ministry data as reported. All of these numbers are provisional and may be revised slightly.
Frequently asked questions
How much GST was collected in October 2026?
Gross GST collection was ₹2,31,290 crore, up 22.9% from ₹1,88,125 crore in October 2025. After refunds, net GST was ₹2,03,356 crore, up 25.6%.
How much GST came from imports in October 2026?
GST on imports was ₹72,246 crore, up 42.2% from ₹50,796 crore a year earlier. Domestic collections were ₹1,59,044 crore, up 15.8%.
Is October 2026 the highest GST month this year?
No. April 2026 was higher, at ₹2,42,702 crore, according to the GST portal. October is the second-highest month of 2026-27 so far.
What is the total GST collection for April to October 2026?
Gross collections for the seven months were ₹14,77,569 crore, up 13.2%. Net collections were ₹12,69,486 crore, up 12.6%.