GST collection rose 12.6% to an all-time high of about ₹2.37 lakh crore in April. Image for representation
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection rose 12.6% Y-o-Y to an all-time high of about ₹2.37 lakh crore in April, reflecting strong economic activity and March-end reconciliation of books by businesses.

The GST mop-up was ₹2.10 lakh crore in April 2024 — the second highest collection ever since GST was rolled out on July 1, 2017. In March 2025, the collection was ₹1.96 lakh crore.

According to the latest government data released on Thursday (May 1, 2025), GST revenue from domestic transactions rose 10.7% to about ₹1.9 lakh crore, while revenue from imported goods was up 20.8% to ₹46,913 crore.

Also Read | Gross GST Collections up 10% in March 2025

Refunds issuance rose 48.3% to ₹27,341 crore during April.

After adjusting refunds, net GST collection rose 9.1% to over ₹2.09 lakh crore in April.

Deloitte India Partner M.S. Mani said the net GST collections crossing ₹2 lakh crore in the first month of the current fiscal year indicates a strong economic performance in the last month of the previous fiscal year as these relate to transactions in goods and services in March 2025.

“The GST collections during the month have been uniformly high in all the major producing/consuming States and have been in the range of 11% to 16%, unlike previous months where there were some large states having lower growth.

Central GST collection from domestic transactions stood at ₹48,634 crore in April, while state GST mop-up was ₹59,372 crore. Integrated GST and cess collection were ₹69,504 crore and ₹12,293 crore, respectively, from domestic transactions.

EY Tax Partner Saurabh Agarwal said the record GST collections underscore the Indian economy’s underlying strength in the face of global economic uncertainties.

“The government’s proactive measures to accelerate export and other GST refunds have eased the working capital burden on industries, a benefit likely to translate to consumers over the medium to long term,” Mr. Agarwal said.

While a potential moderation in absolute GST collections is anticipated next month due to the current global economic climate, the overall outlook for the Indian economy remains optimistic, he added.

KPMG, Indirect Tax Head & Partner Abhishek Jain said the all-time high GST collections are a strong indicator of robust economic activity.

“While this reflects ongoing recovery and growth, a significant contributor is also the year-end reconciliation process, which typically results in additional tax payments by businesses to align their returns during the year,” Mr. Jain added.

NEW DELHI: Eternal Ltd, formerly known as Zomato Ltd, the food delivery and quick commerce enterprise operating Zomato and Blinkit brands, announced on Thursday a consolidated net profit of Rs 39 crore for the quarter ending March 31, 2025. This marks a change from the Rs 175 crore profit recorded in the corresponding period last year.
The company, which adopted the name Eternal, changing from Zomato, in March, noted that the results for the recent quarters are not directly comparable with previous periods.
The organisation’s operational revenue reached Rs 5,833 crore in the January-March quarter, up from Rs 3,562 crore in the previous year’s corresponding period, according to their regulatory submission.
The company’s total expenditure amounted to Rs 6,104 crore during the review period. The quick commerce venture Blinkit experienced increased losses, as indicated in the regulatory documentation.
The organisation’s revenue segments comprise India food ordering and delivery, Hyperpure supplies, Blinkit quick commerce, District dining services, and additional miscellaneous segments.
“On August 27, 2024, Eternal Ltd (Formerly known as Zomato Ltd) completed the acquisition of Orbgen Technologies Pvt Ltd (OTPL), and Wasteland Entertainment Pvt Ltd (WEPL), holding the Movies Ticketing business and Events business respectively, from One 97 Communications Ltd (OCL).”
“These acquisitions were executed through a combination of secondary share purchases from OCL amounting to Rs 758 crore (for both the entities) and primary infusion into the OTPL and WEPL amounting to Rs 1,260 crore. This amount was subject to adjustments as agreed in definitive agreements. Post adjustment, the total purchase consideration amounts to Rs 2,014 crore,” the company said.
Whilst the corporate entity and stock ticker have been renamed to Eternal, the food delivery service continues to operate under the Zomato brand name and application.

Starting May 1, banks will charge ₹23 per withdrawal from ATMS after free monthly usage limit.
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma

The RBI’s instructions on revised ATM usage cost have come into effect from Thursday (May 1, 2025) under which banks can charge ₹23 per cash withdrawal once a customer exhausts the free permissible limit in a month.

Earlier, banks were allowed to charge up to ₹21 per such transaction.

Customers are eligible for five free transactions (inclusive of financial and non-financial transactions) every month from their own bank Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). They are also eligible for free transactions (inclusive of financial and non-financial transactions) from other bank ATMs — three transactions in metro centres and five in non-metro centres.

On March 28, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had issued a circular on ‘Usage of Automated Teller Machines / Cash Recycler Machines – Review of Interchange Fee and Customer Charges’.

“Beyond the free transactions, a customer may be charged a maximum fee of Rs 23 per transaction. This shall be effective from May 01, 2025,” the RBI’s circular said. The revised instructions also apply to transactions done at cash recycler machines (other than for cash deposit transactions).

The RBI has, from time to time, issued various instructions on the number of free ATM transactions and maximum charges that can be levied on a customer beyond the mandatory free transactions. Instructions have also been issued by the RBI on interchange fee structure for ATM transactions.

The circular also said the ATM interchange fee will be as decided by the ATM network.

The current interchange fee per transaction is Rs 17 for financial transactions and Rs 6 for non-financial transactions in all centres.

There were 2,55,885 banks ATMs, cash recycler machines (CRMs) and white label ATMs (WLAs) at end-March 2025.