New Delhi, Oct. 2 -- India's gross goods and services tax (GST) collections rose 14.7% in September to Rs.2.04 lakh crore from Rs.1.77 lakh crore a year earlier, with the headline growth driven largely by a sharper rise in tax collected on imports, which increased nearly 26%, according to provisional data released by the finance ministry on Thursday. September was the third month this fiscal year in which GST collections crossed the Rs.2 lakh crore mark, but were below the Rs.2.11 lakh crore collected in July, when the monthly mop-up crossed Rs.2 lakh crore for the second time. July's collection was the second-highest since GST was introduced in July 2017, after the record Rs.2.43 lakh crore collected in April 2026. The September numbers come ahead of the 57th GST Council meeting on 7 October in New Delhi. While the council's agenda has not yet been made public, discussions are likely to include a review of GST on merchant discount rate (MDR) on UPI transactions, with a new MDR levy slated to take effect from 15 October. The meeting could also provide an opportunity to review the implementation of rate rationalization and take up outstanding issues under the indirect tax regime, as reported by Mint on 28 August. P11...