GST Day 2025 Special: The government’s gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections reached an unprecedented Rs 22.08 lakh crore in the year ended March 31, 2025, marking 9.4 per cent growth over the previous financial year. The data comes as the indirect tax regime completes eight years since its implementation back in 2017, reflecting the rising formalisation of the economy and improved tax compliance in the country.

GST Day 2025 | Significance of July 1 

Every year, India observes GST Day on July 1, celebrating the implementation of this significant tax reform in 2017.

The GST—which unifies 17 different taxes and 13 types of cess—has successfully created a seamless national market, achieved simplified compliance, digitised tax systems, expanded the taxpayer base, and strengthened cooperative federalism, reshaping the country’s economic competitiveness and governance culture, according to an official statement.

Those achievements are aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision about the new indirect tax regime.

When PM called GST ‘Good and Simple Tax’ on ‘Mann Ki Baat’

The Prime Minister had said during his monthly radio address to the nation, back in July 2017: “I call GST ‘Good and Simple Tax’. Indeed, it has produced a big positive effect on our economy in a very short time span… And some day, the pundits of economics, pundits of management and pundits of technology will certainly undertake researches and write about India’s GST experiment as a model for the world. It will become a case study for universities across the world.”

Meanwhile, since its first meeting in September 2016, the Finance Minister-headed GST Council has made a number of decisions at as many as 55 meetings as of date. As a constitutional body responsible for making recommendations on issues related to the rollout of GST, the Council has worked tirelessly to bring about a significant impact on the GST implementation in the country during these eight years. 

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8 Years of GST | A summary of notable decisions by the all-powerful GST Council

Here’s a summary of some of the key decisions taken by the Finance Minister-chaired GST Council:

• E-Way Bill system to promote self-reporting and reduce tax evasion
• E-Invoices integrated with e-Way Bill and GST returns to ease compliance and promote digitalisation
• Housing sector GST cut: Rate reduced from 12 per cent to 5 per cent for non-affordable, and from 8 per cent to 1 per cent for affordable under-construction homes
• Mandatory e-Invoicing for B2B transactions for firms with Rs 5+ crore turnover from August 1, 2023
• Electric vehicle GST cut from 12 per cent to 5 per cent; GST exemption for electric buses with capacity over 12 passengers
• QRMP scheme to ease compliance for small businesses (quarterly returns with monthly payments)
• Simplified GST returns, auto-populated data, and dynamic QR codes to boost digital payments
• Rate rationalisation: Items in 28 per cent GST slab reduced from 227 to 35
• Trade facilitation measures: Refund formula change, late fee waiver for GSTR-4, more tax payment options
• GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) approved with Principal Bench in Delhi and State benches as needed
• Amnesty scheme: Allowed delayed appeals against demand orders
• Interest and penalty waiver: For FY 2017–2020 in non-fraud cases, if full tax paid by Mar 31, 2025
• Biometric-based Aadhaar authentication rolled out in phases for registered applicants
• Pilot launch of B2C e-invoicing recommended
• Vouchers clarified as neither goods nor services; provisions simplified
• Full GST exemption on gene therapy (55th meeting)
• Legal framework for Invoice Management System (IMS) recommended

GST enters its ninth year

Stepping into its ninth year, the indirect tax regime continues to evolve, prioritising ease of doing business, stronger compliance and broader economic inclusion, solidifying its role as a driver of the country’s economic progress, the statement noted.