New Delhi, July 2 -- The Centre and states together collected Rs.1.95 lakh crore in gross goods and services tax (GST) revenue in June before adjusting for refunds, marking a 13.9% year-on-year increase, according to data released by the finance ministry on Wednesday. The growth was driven by a sharp rise in GST revenue from imports, which surged 34.6% year-on-year to Rs.60,038 crore. Domestic GST collections increased 6.5% to Rs.1.35 lakh crore. After adjusting for refunds, net GST mop-up stood at Rs.1.62 lakh crore, up 11.2% from a year earlier. GST refunds rose 29.1% during the month to Rs.32,436 crore, reflecting faster processing of claims. The June collections suggest economic activity remained resilient despite global uncertainties, with higher imports and steady domestic transactions supporting tax revenues. During the first quarter of FY27 (April-June), gross GST collections rose 8.4 % year-on-year to Rs.6.32 lakh crore, compared with Rs.5.83 lakh crore in the corresponding period of the previous financial year. Net GST revenue increased 7.1 % to Rs.5.40 lakh crore during the period. "The consistent growth in GST collections is a clear bellwether of the Indian economy's underlying resilience, demonstrating that domestic consumer demand remains robust despite persistent global geopolitical headwinds," said Saurabh Agarwal, tax partner at EY India. The accelerated pace of GST refunds highlighted the government's commitment to improving business liquidity and easing working capital pressures, he said. Agarwal said the rising share of GST collections from imports warranted closer structural analysis, suggesting that unutilised allocations under the production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes could be redeployed to attract and scale high-value manufacturing within the country. Among major states, Uttar Pradesh remained the top performer, recording a 19% increase in collections to Rs.9,165 crore in June. Assam posted a 17% rise, while Punjab reported 14% growth. Maharashtra, the country's largest GST-contributing state, reported a 9% increase in collections to Rs.30,714 crore. States that witnessed a decline include Tamil Nadu, which saw a 2% decline, while mop-up in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh fell 5% each. According to Vivek Jalan, partner, Tax Connect Advisory Services LLP, the June numbers underscored the resilience of domestic consumption as well as the strength of external trade. He noted that while net GST collections rose 11.2%, net domestic revenue increased 2.6% despite GST 2.0 rate reductions and the continued impact of accumulated input tax credit on inventories....