Form of words:
New Delhi: India’s GST collection in September stood at over Rs 1 lakh crore for the third consecutive month at over Rs 1.17 lakh crore, which is expected to post higher revenues in the second half of the year.
Tax collection in September on goods sold and services rendered was 23% higher than Rs 95,480 crore collected in September 2020 and 27% higher than Rs 91,916 crore collected in September 2019.
Collections in September are the highest in five months since April when revenue was at a record high of Rs 1.41 lakh crore.
Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections in August and July stood at Rs 1.12 lakh crore and Rs 1.16 lakh crore, respectively.
“Gross GST revenue collected in the month of September 2021 is Rs 1,17,010 crore, of which Central GST is Rs 20,578 crore, State GST is Rs 26,767 crore, Integrated GST is Rs 60,911 crore (including Rs 29,555 crore collected on import of goods ) the Finance Ministry said in a statement, and the cess is Rs 8,754 crore (including Rs 623 crore collected on import of goods).
During September, revenue from imports of goods was 30% higher and revenue from domestic transactions (including import of services) was 20% higher than revenue from these sources during the corresponding month of the previous year.
The average monthly gross GST collection for the second (July-September) quarter of the current year stood at Rs 1.15 lakh crore, which is 5% higher than the average monthly collection of Rs 1.10 lakh crore in the first quarter of the year.
“This clearly indicates that the economy is recovering at a fast pace. Along with economic growth, anti-theft activities, especially action against fake billers, are also contributing to the growth in GST collections. The positive trend in revenue is expected to continue with higher revenue growth in the second half of the year.
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co Partner Rajat Bose said buoyancy in GST collections is a good indicator of economic recovery.
“With the onset of the festive season, the GST collection should also see an increase in the near future,” Bose said.
The ministry said the Center has also released GST compensation of Rs 22,000 crore to the states to meet the GST revenue gap.
ICRA Chief Economist Aditi Nair said the release of Rs 22,000 crore GST compensation cess would benefit the cash flow position of the states, allowing accelerated spending in the December quarter, leading to an expected increase in central government spending.
MS Mani, senior director, Deloitte India, said the GST collection figures show that the economy’s growth is headed towards stable collections, which will help in achieving the fiscal deficit target of 6.8% of GDP.
“Most of the major manufacturing states have registered a growth of more than 20% over the last year, indicating that economic revival is clearly in progress in the major states,” Mani said.
Mani further said that the significant increase in GST collections from both import and domestic transactions as compared to the same period last year and significant increase in collections in key states indicates a pick-up in business activities.
Read also: Time to rethink GST, as no economy can afford to sustain a failed tax experiment
subscribe our channel youtube And Wire
Why is the news media in crisis and how can you fix it?
India needs free, unbiased, non-hyphenated and questionable journalism even more as it is facing many crises.
But the news media itself is in trouble. There have been brutal layoffs and pay-cuts. The best of journalism are shrinking, yielding to raw prime-time spectacle.
ThePrint has the best young journalists, columnists and editors to work for it. Smart and thinking people like you will have to pay a price to maintain this quality of journalism. Whether you live in India or abroad, you can Here.