ARS Insights, April 2026. Practical research thinking for business owners, in plain language.
1. GST collections for 2025-26
Gross GST collections for 2025-26 were Rs 22.27 lakh crore, up 8.3% on the year before, or Rs 19.35 lakh crore net of refunds, up 7.1%. March 2026 alone brought Rs 2.00 lakh crore, up 8.8%. Within that, domestic GST rose 5.9% while GST on imports rose 17.8%.
2. Headline growth versus domestic growth
Why it matters: A strong headline can hide a slower part. Domestic transactions grew more slowly than imports in March, so the total looked healthier than the home market alone. The same trap exists in a business: total sales can rise while your core product or core city stays flat.
What to measure: split your own sales by product, city and customer type, and look at the slowest part separately from the total.
3. One question for your business this month
Which part of your sales is growing slower than the total, and do you know why?
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ARS Market Research Services Pvt. Ltd., Chennai. arsmrs.in
Sources: GST collection summary for March 2026 and financial year 2025-26 (The Munim), based on Finance Ministry data.