GST taxpayer base and collections 2025-26: official GSTN figures

How much GST was collected in FY 2025-26?

According to GSTN's statistical report on nine years of GST, gross collections in FY 2025-26 were ₹23,31,819 crore: CGST ₹4,44,309 crore, SGST ₹5,51,302 crore, IGST ₹12,31,485 crore and compensation cess ₹1,04,723 crore. That is about 5.6% higher than FY 2024-25's ₹22,08,861 crore.

Government press statements for FY 2025-26 quoted a lower headline figure of over ₹22.27 lakh crore, up 8.3%. The gap is the compensation cess: ₹23,31,819 crore minus ₹1,04,723 crore of cess equals ₹22,27,096 crore. Official monthly releases now compare collections without cess, which was largely wound down with the GST rate rationalisation of 22 September 2025. Compare like with like when you read growth rates.

How did GST collections move month by month?

April is seasonally the strongest month because it captures year-end March sales. FY 2025-26 opened with ₹2,36,716 crore in April 2025. Collections then ranged between ₹1.75 lakh crore and ₹2.01 lakh crore. The lowest month was November 2025 at ₹1,75,032 crore, reflecting October activity just after GST rates were cut on many goods from 22 September 2025, and the shrinking cess component. March 2026 closed at ₹2,00,167 crore.

Averaged across the year, gross collections were about ₹1,94,318 crore a month including cess. Only three months, April 2025, May 2025 and March 2026, crossed ₹2 lakh crore. The spread between the strongest and weakest month was about ₹61,700 crore, a reminder that month-to-month comparisons need seasonal context.

How many businesses are registered under GST?

GSTN reported 1,67,14,646 active taxpayers on 30 June 2026. Of these, 1,48,70,332 were normal taxpayers, 13,55,180 had opted for the composition scheme, 4,33,198 were registered as tax deductors (TDS), 24,494 as e-commerce tax collectors (TCS) and 27,115 as Input Service Distributors. Non-resident, OIDAR, casual and UIN registrations together numbered just 4,327.

Proprietorships make up 76.9% of the active base. About 39.15 lakh taxpayers, or 23.4%, migrated from the pre-GST regime in 2017; the remaining three-quarters registered fresh under GST. In FY 2025-26, 1.13 crore taxpayers reported 43.91 crore invoices through GST returns.

Which states have the most GST taxpayers?

Uttar Pradesh has the largest active taxpayer base at 22,00,424, just ahead of Maharashtra at 20,58,448. Gujarat (14,32,356), Tamil Nadu (12,56,470), Karnataka (11,23,466) and Rajasthan (10,12,206) are the other states above 10 lakh. Taxpayer counts do not track revenue: Maharashtra contributes far more tax than Uttar Pradesh, because registration counts are driven by the number of small proprietors, while collections follow the location of large manufacturers and service providers.

Beyond the leaders, Bihar (7,20,630), Haryana (6,49,353), Madhya Pradesh (6,16,675) and Telangana (5,80,676) each have more than five lakh active taxpayers. At the other end, Lakshadweep has 598, Mizoram 9,928, Sikkim 11,890 and Nagaland 11,953. Uttar Pradesh alone has about 13% of the national base.

What do filing and invoice volumes show about compliance?

GSTN reports that 192.27 crore returns had been filed since July 2017, with a single-day peak of 43.51 lakh returns. In FY 2025-26, 1,13,30,245 taxpayers reported 43,91,32,942 invoices, an average of 34.6 invoices per taxpayer per month. That means about two-thirds of the active base reported invoice-level data during the year.

Self-correction tools are being used. In March 2026 the portal issued 11,466 DRC-01B and DRC-01C intimations flagging mismatches between returns, and 10,175 were resolved by taxpayers themselves. Helpdesk data shows new registration generated tickets on 5.52% of applications, far higher than GSTR-1 (0.05%) or GSTR-3B (0.06%), so registration remains the most friction-prone step for new businesses.

How has GST revenue grown since 2017?

Annual gross collections have more than tripled from ₹7,40,648 crore in the nine months of FY 2017-18. The first full year, FY 2018-19, raised ₹11,77,369 crore. After the pandemic dip to ₹11,36,801 crore in FY 2020-21, collections rose every year: ₹14,88,227 crore in FY 2021-22, ₹18,07,680 crore in FY 2022-23, ₹20,18,249 crore in FY 2023-24 and ₹22,08,861 crore in FY 2024-25.

Growth slowed to about 5.6% in FY 2025-26 on the cess-inclusive measure, which is expected given the September 2025 rate cuts on many consumer goods and the phasing out of compensation cess.

IGST is the largest component, at ₹12,31,485 crore or about 53% of FY 2025-26 gross collections, because it captures inter-state supplies and imports. SGST made up about 24%, CGST about 19% and compensation cess about 4.5%. IGST is later settled between the Centre and the consuming states, so this split is not the final revenue share of each government.

What does this mean for a business registering now?

Registration is mandatory once aggregate turnover crosses ₹40 lakh for most suppliers of goods or ₹20 lakh for service providers, with lower limits in special category states. It is compulsory regardless of turnover for inter-state suppliers of goods, casual and non-resident taxable persons and many e-commerce sellers. The composition scheme, used by 13.55 lakh taxpayers, suits small traders and manufacturers who sell mainly to consumers.

Most small registrants can choose the QRMP scheme if turnover is up to ₹5 crore, filing GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B quarterly while paying tax monthly. Given how much of the base is proprietorships, the most common compliance gaps are missed GSTR-3B filings and ITC claimed without matching supplier invoices in GSTR-2B.