Centre and State jointly celebrate 9th GST Day; Maharashtra contributes 22.2% to India’s total GST collections
Mumbai: Describing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as one of the most transformative economic reforms in independent India, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said the “One Nation, One Tax” regime has successfully created a tax-compliant society, with nearly 90 per cent of taxpayers voluntarily paying their taxes.
Addressing the 9th GST Day celebrations jointly organised by the Central GST (CGST) Mumbai Zone and the Maharashtra State GST Department at Ravindra Natya Mandir in Mumbai, Fadnavis said GST has fundamentally changed India’s indirect taxation system by replacing multiple central, state and local taxes with a unified, technology-driven framework.
Recalling the journey of GST, the Chief Minister said building consensus among states was the biggest challenge before its implementation. He credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for successfully bringing all states together by assuring compensation for revenue losses during the transition period.
Fadnavis described the GST Council as the finest example of cooperative federalism, where the Centre and states take policy decisions through consensus rather than confrontation. He also hailed the GST Network (GSTN) as one of India’s greatest digital governance achievements, comparable to UPI, for enabling seamless tax administration and transparent revenue sharing.
Highlighting Maharashtra’s outstanding performance, Fadnavis said the state has consistently remained the country’s highest GST contributor. Maharashtra collected around 3.62 lakh crore in GST during 2025-26 and now contributes 22.2 per cent of India’s total GST revenue. “Maharashtra can rightly be called the GST Capital of India,” he remarked.
The Chief Minister said the state has adopted Artificial Intelligence, machine learning and advanced data analytics to identify tax evasion while ensuring minimum harassment to honest taxpayers. He added that enforcement is now increasingly intelligence-based rather than dependent on routine raids, thereby improving compliance and transparency.
He also welcomed the reforms introduced under GST 2.0, including rationalisation of tax slabs, simplification of compliance procedures and measures aimed at improving ease of doing business, particularly for MSMEs and manufacturing industries.
State GST Commissioner Ashish Sharma said Maharashtra has consistently maintained the top position in GST collections, with the state’s revenue touching 3.62 lakh crore in 2025-26. GST now accounts for nearly 49 per cent of Maharashtra’s own tax revenue, while the department has focused on faster refunds, simplified registration, transparent enforcement and taxpayer-friendly reforms.
Principal Chief Commissioner, CGST Mumbai Zone, Prachi Swaroop said GST has evolved into a mature and robust tax system over the past nine years. India’s GST collections have increased from around 7.5 lakh crore in the first year to over 22 lakh crore in the last financial year, reflecting improved compliance, digital adoption and a broader tax base. She said GST represents a strong partnership between the Centre, states and taxpayers and remains a cornerstone of India’s journey towards becoming a developed nation by 2047.
During the event, outstanding taxpayers for their consistent tax compliance and exemplary officers from both the Central and State GST departments were felicitated by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The joint celebration by the Centre and the Maharashtra government was widely seen as a symbol of cooperative federalism and the strong partnership between the two tax administrations.
