Total refunds declined 3.1% to ₹22,665 crore.
Net Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenues, however, grew 7.6% to about ₹1.71 lakh crore in January.
October collections were higher at ₹1,95,936 crore, but that included a cess of ₹7,812 crore. If cess numbers are removed, this is the highest collection since April 2025 (in this financial year), making it a eight-month high.
April was ₹2,23,265 crore without cess and ₹2,36,716 crore with cess
Cess collection (from tobacco products) in January stood at ₹5,768 crore. This compares to ₹13,009 crore in collections in January 2025, when a cess was levied on luxury, sin, and demerit goods such as cars and tobacco products.
Effective September 22, 2025, GST rates were slashed on 375 items. 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.
Gross tax collections from domestic transactions grew 4.8% to ₹1.41 lakh crore, while import revenues were up 10.1% to ₹52,253 crore in January.
