CURRENT AFFAIRS | 02 OCTOBER 2026
GST Collections Cross ₹2 Lakh Crore Again as Import Share Hits a Record High
India’s gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue rose to ₹2.03 lakh crore in September 2026, a growth of 14.7% over the same month a year earlier, according to data released on 1 October 2026. Net GST collections grew an even sharper 18.1% year-on-year. Notably, the share of revenue coming from imports climbed to its highest-ever level, while the share from domestic transactions fell to its lowest-ever level — a structural shift worth understanding for the CLAT General Knowledge and Legal Reasoning sections.
- Gross GST revenue: ₹2.03 lakh crore (up 14.7% year-on-year)
- Net GST collections: up 18.1% year-on-year
- Import share of revenue at an all-time high; domestic share at an all-time low
- H1 (April–September 2026): gross GST grew 11.6%
- Manufacturing PMI touched a seven-month high of 55.1 in September
Why the Numbers Matter
Crossing the ₹2 lakh crore mark is significant because it came despite this year’s rate cuts under the “GST 2.0” rationalisation to fewer slabs. As M.S. Mani of Deloitte India observed, buoyant collections even on lower rates suggest that wider audits, better compliance and simplification are yielding results. The parallel seven-month high in the Manufacturing PMI points to firm underlying demand in the economy.
What GST Is
GST is a destination-based, multi-stage, value-added indirect tax levied on the supply of goods and services, popularly summarised as “One Nation, One Tax.” It was launched on 1 July 2017, subsuming a web of central and state levies. Intra-state supplies attract CGST plus SGST, while inter-state supplies and imports attract IGST — which is why rising imports lift the IGST-driven share of the pie.
GST was introduced by the 101st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2016. Article 246A grants a special concurrent power to both Parliament and State Legislatures to make laws on GST. Article 279A establishes the GST Council, chaired by the Union Finance Minister with State Finance Ministers as members; it recommends rates, exemptions and thresholds, with decisions taken by a three-fourths weighted majority (the Centre holding one-third of the weight and the States two-thirds).
In Union of India v Mohit Minerals (2022), the Supreme Court held that recommendations of the GST Council are persuasive and recommendatory, not binding on the Centre or the States. The ruling anchored GST in the principle of cooperative federalism, affirming that both tiers of government retain genuine fiscal autonomy.
The Slab Structure
Following the 2026 rationalisation, GST now operates on fewer slabs — 0%, 5%, 18% and 40% — aimed at reducing classification disputes and easing compliance. For aspirants, the key conceptual distinction is between IGST (on imports and inter-state trade) and the CGST–SGST split (on intra-state trade). The rising import share of collections is, in part, an arithmetic reflection of this architecture: as imports grow, IGST-driven revenue expands relative to purely domestic transactions.
Cooperative Federalism in Practice
GST is often described as India’s most ambitious experiment in cooperative federalism. Because both the Union and the States surrendered independent taxing powers over most goods and services to a shared system, the design had to protect each tier’s revenue interests. The weighted-voting formula in the GST Council — giving the Centre one-third and the States collectively two-thirds of the vote, with a three-fourths threshold to carry any recommendation — ensures that neither side can dictate outcomes alone. The strong first-half growth of 11.6% suggests the arrangement is delivering stable revenue even through a year of rate cuts.
Reading the Shift
The simultaneous record in import share and record low in domestic share is the single most striking feature of the September data. For a destination-based tax, this points both to the composition of consumption and to the way IGST on imports is credited and settled. Combined with the seven-month-high Manufacturing PMI of 55.1, the picture is of an economy where formalisation and compliance are broadening the tax base rather than merely raising rates.
GST is a recurring theme in CLAT Legal Reasoning and GK. Expect passages on fiscal federalism, the concurrent taxing power under Article 246A, the weighted-voting design of the GST Council under Article 279A, and the recommendatory nature of its decisions after Mohit Minerals. Distinguishing direct from indirect taxes, and intra-state from inter-state levies, is frequently tested.
Remember the GST articles as the pair “246A grants the power, 279A builds the Council.” For the design of the Council, recall “3/4ths to decide, 1/3rd Centre and 2/3rds States.”
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