New Delhi, May 2 -- The gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue has increased by 8.7% to record Rs.2.43 lakh crore in April, the first month of current financial year, as compared to Rs.2.23 lakh crore in the same month of 2025-26, with much of the growth driven by a sharp rise in import-linked revenues, a government data showed on Friday. The monthly gross collection has crossed Rs.2 lakh crore mark for the second time in a row after the GST Council rationalised tax rates in September 2025 and phased out the compensation cess. Gross GST revenue in March 2026 was Rs.2,00,064 crore. In April, gross collections were Rs.2,42,702 crore, compared to Rs.2,23,265 crore a year earlier (adjusted for compensation cess). Without adjusting for compensation cess, gross GST revenue in April 2025 was Rs.236,716 crore, historical data showed. GST revenue from imports stood at Rs.57,580 crore in April 2026 as compared to Rs.45,754 crore in the same period a year ago, marking a 25.8% jump. Gross domestic revenue, however, remained subdued with 4.3% increase to Rs.1,85,122 crore in April 2026 as against Rs.1,77,511 crore in April 2025. Despite significant refunds, neat GST revenue in April 2026 crossed Rs.2 lakh crore. After refunds of Rs.31,793 crore in April 2026 -- up by 19.3% year-on-year -- net GST collections came in at Rs.2,10,909 crore, 7.3% higher than Rs.1,96,618 crore in April 2025. Experts said revenue from imports saw a robust growth. "The trend of IGST (integrated GST) on imports contributing significantly to the overall GST collections for the month seen in recent times has continued in this month as well; this indicates that imports are on the upswing.HTC...