GST growth slows to 3.2% in May, but gold and goods consumption surge underneath

Headline GST collections rose just 3.2% to Rs 1.94 lakh crore, the slowest in six months, dragged by a telecom base effect. Strip that out and adjusted growth runs near 9%, with taxable goods value up 27% and gold/precious metals up 47% — pointing to resilient post-rationalisation retail and jewelry demand.

— Source publishedTue, 2 Jun, 2026, 01:25 IST·First seen Tue, 2 Jun, 2026, 01:39 IST·Source Times of India · Business

What happened

GST Council · May GST collections grew just 3.2% to Rs 1.94 lakh crore, slowest in six months, dragged by a high telecom-payment base. Officials cite strong

Key facts

  • Rs 1,94,184 crore total May GST
  • 3.2% growth
  • domestic GST Rs 1,34,530 crore down 2.6%
  • 9% adjusted growth
  • taxable goods value Rs 40 lakh crore +27%
  • gold/precious metals Rs 5.1 lakh crore +47%
  • services taxable value Rs 11.5 lakh crore +22%
  • IGST imports Rs 60,000 crore +20%

Why this matters

The 47% gold taxable value jump validates jewelry as an accretive category for bolt-ons, while broad goods strength keeps multi-format retail targets in scope despite the soft headline.