Marginal Uptick: J&K GST rises 2% in August to Rs 582 crore

Srinagar, Sep 18: Jammu and Kashmir’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections touched Rs 582 crore in August 2025, a modest 2% rise from Rs 569 crore in the same month last year.

The uptick comes as a relief after July’s dip, when collections slid to Rs 599 crore from Rs 629 crore in July 2024, sparking worries of weakening demand in the Union Territory.

Nationally, GST collections stood at Rs 1.86 lakh crore in August, a 6.5% increase over last year, though lower than July’s Rs 1.96 lakh crore. The April 2025 mop-up of Rs 2.37 lakh crore remains the highest ever. Domestic revenues grew 9.6% to Rs 1.37 lakh crore in August, while collections from imports slipped 1.2%. Net GST revenue rose 10.7% year-on-year to Rs 1.67 lakh crore.

For 2024–25 so far, J&K has garnered Rs 7,175 crore in GST, ranking 22nd nationally. Of this, Rs 2,991 crore came from Central GST, Rs 1,954 crore from State GST, Rs 2,113 crore from Integrated GST, and Rs 116 crore from Compensation Cess. Despite incremental gains, J&K contributes less than 0.5% to India’s total GST collections of Rs 16.75 lakh crore.

What is striking is the gap with other, often smaller states. Uttarakhand collected Rs 20,670 crore this fiscal, Himachal Pradesh Rs 10,352 crore, Assam Rs 17,415 crore, while even Goa—with a population barely above 15 lakh—registered Rs 7,146 crore, just Rs 29 crore short of J&K’s tally.

Experts say J&K’s reliance on horticulture, tourism and a narrow industrial base limits revenue buoyancy. Political instability, logistical bottlenecks, and slow private investment also continue to constrain growth despite improved compliance and digitisation.

The new GST regime, rolling out on 22 September, will introduce a simplified two-slab system—5% for essentials and 18% for most goods and services—while taxing luxury and sin goods at 40%. Essentials including staple foods, health insurance, exercise books and maps will be exempted. Policymakers hope the reforms will widen compliance and ease burdens on households, but for J&K, deeper economic revival measures remain the real test.