Hinting at lower fiscal mop-up, J&K records 9% dip in GST collections in October

Srinagar, Nov 1: Jammu and Kashmir’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections dropped to Rs 551 crore in October 2025, a considerable 9 per cent decrease from Rs 608 crore during the same month last year.

The sharp dip comes after September’s spike, when collections touched Rs 699 crore from Rs 599 crore in September 2024. Notably, Jammu and Kashmir’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections had reached Rs 582 crore in August 2025, a modest 2 per cent rise from Rs 569 crore in the same month last year.

In October this year, addressing a FICCI event in Srinagar, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had said that the revision in GST rates is expected to reduce the tax collection of Jammu and Kashmir by up to Rs 1,000 crore this fiscal. “The revision of GST rates alone will reduce our earnings by Rs 900 to Rs 1000 crore, and for a state like Jammu and Kashmir, which is already in deficit, it is a lot of money,” CM Omar had said.

Nationally, Gross GST collection increased 4.6 per cent to about Rs 1.96 lakh crore in October, 2025 driven by festive buying spree despite a cut in GST rates.

The new GST regime, was rolled out on September 22  to introduce a simplified two-slab system—5 per cent for essentials and 18 per cent for most goods and services—while taxing luxury and sin goods at 40 per cent. Essentials including staple foods, health insurance, exercise books and maps have been exempted under the new regime, also known as GST 2.0. Policymakers hope the reforms will widen compliance and ease burdens on households, but in the case of J&K, there are expectations of full-fledged economic revival plans.

Notably, Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates on 375 items, including kitchen staples to electronics and automobiles, were slashed with effect from September 22. The October GST collection number reflects the impact of festive season sales, and the pent up demand nationally. Consumers had held back their purchase decision, awaiting GST rate cut after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech had announced that GST rates will be cut ahead of Diwali. The rate cut was, however, implemented with the onset of Navratri.

According to the government data released on Saturday, gross GST mop-up in October was about Rs 1.96 lakh crore, a 4.6 per cent higher over Rs 1.87 lakh crore collections in October 2024. In August and September this year, the tax collection was a little subdued at over Rs 1.86 lakh crore and Rs 1.89 lakh crore, respectively. The rate of growth in GST collections in year-on-Year terms in October at 4.6 per cent is, however, lower than about 9 per cent average growth that the collections saw in the previous months. The gross domestic revenue, an indication of local sales, grew 2 per cent to Rs 1.45 lakh crore, while tax from imports surged about 13 per cent to Rs 50,884 crore in October. However, GST refunds also rose 39.6 per cent year-on-year to Rs 26,934 crore.

Net GST revenue stood at Rs 1.69 lakh crore in October 2025, recording 0.2 per cent YoY growth.