New Delhi: India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection recorded a year-on-year growth of 6.1 per cent in December 2025, crossing the Rs 1.74 lakh crore mark, official data released on Thursday showed. The total GST revenue for the month stood at Rs 1,74,550 crore, up from Rs 1,64,556 crore collected in December last year, reflecting increased economic activity.
Of the total collection, Central GST (CGST) stood at Rs 34,289 crore, State GST (SGST) at Rs 41,368 crore, and Integrated GST (IGST) at Rs 98,894 crore.
The government also collected Rs 4,551 crore through the GST compensation cess, which continues as a transitional arrangement until the entire loan and interest liabilities are fully settled. The total compensation cess collection for the full year amounted to Rs 88,385 crore, compared to Rs 1.1 lakh crore in 2024.
While new higher GST slabs, including a 40 per cent rate for certain luxury items, have been introduced, the compensation cess remains applicable on products such as tobacco and pan masala.
GST refunds issued during December totalled Rs 28,980 crore, significantly higher than the Rs 22,138 crore refunded in the same month last year.
The growth in GST revenue has been achieved despite a reduction in tax rates that came into effect on September 22. Officials noted that lower rates boosted consumer demand for goods and services, thereby supporting higher overall economic activity.
Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry on Thursday issued a series of notifications to implement a new tax regime for tobacco products from February 1, 2026. It announced that the Central Excise (Amendment) Act, 2025—passed during the recently concluded Winter Session of Parliament—will come into force on that date, introducing revised excise duty rates on tobacco products.
The ministry also notified that provisions of the Health Security-cum-National Security Act, 2025, which levy a cess on the manufacture of pan masala, will be effective from February 1, 2026.
Additionally, the Finance Ministry released a set of frequently asked questions clarifying that under the GST regime, excise duty on cigarettes had effectively been reduced to a nominal amount—described as a “fraction of a paisa” per cigarette stick—and that the GST compensation cess on tobacco products has not been increased since its introduction in July 2017.
With inputs from IANS