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. Gross domestic GST revenue rose 10.1% to Rs.1.38 lakh crore in September from Rs.1.25 lakh crore a year earlier. GST collected on imports, meanwhile, jumped 25.9% to Rs.65,525 crore from Rs.52,031 crore. The rise in import-linked GST is in line with the trend seen earlier in the fiscal. According to a Crisil Ratings analysis published on 22 September, IGST collections from imports grew nearly 30% in the five months through August, aided by imports of electronics, machinery, gold, fertilisers and other key goods. Crisil also said elevated commodity prices, rupee depreciation and stable import volumes were supporting import-linked IGST collections. In September, domestic GST revenue increased by Rs.12,662 crore over the year, while GST revenue from imports rose by Rs.13,494 crore. The import component therefore accounted for more than half of the Rs.26,156 crore increase in gross GST collections during the month. Total gross GST revenue stood at Rs.2.04 lakh crore in September, compared with Rs.1.77 lakh crore a year earlier. Total refunds fell 3% to Rs.27,001 crore in September from Rs.27,848 crore a year earlier. Domestic refunds declined 13.5% to Rs.13,504 crore, while export GST refunds processed through the ICEGATE platform rose 10.2% to Rs.13,497 crore, government data showed. Domestic refunds are driven largely by inverted duty structures, where input taxes are higher than output taxes. After refunds, net GST revenue rose 18.1% to Rs.1.77 lakh crore in September from Rs.1.50 lakh crore a year earlier. Net domestic GST revenue increased 13.5% to Rs.1.24 lakh crore, while net revenue from customs-related GST rose 30.8% to Rs.52,028 crore. The faster growth in net collections than gross revenue reflects the decline in total refunds during the month....