₹1.12 L CR GST COLLECTIONS IN AUG, HIGHEST FOR MONTH
The collection crossed ₹1.12 lakh crore in August, a 29.6% y-o-y jump
The Goods and Services Tax collection crossed ₹1.12 lakh crore in August, a 29.6% year-on-year jump and the highest ever for the month since its launch five years ago, signalling robust recovery of business activities after the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic.
“Even as compared to the August revenues in 2019-20 [a non-Covid year] of Rs 98,202 crore, this is a growth of 14%,” a finance ministry statement said.
Gross GST revenue hasn’t touched the ₹1 lakh crore mark in the month of August since its inception on July 1, 2017. According to official data, the GST collection in August 2017 was ₹95,633 crore, in 2018, ₹93,960 crore; in 2019, ₹98,202 crore; and in 2020, ₹86,449 crore. GST collection in August this year, however, was 3.75% down from the July 2021 revenue of ₹1,16,393 crore. Indirect tax collections, a weathervane of economic health, have now crossed the ₹1 lakh crore mark for two consecutive months after plunging below the benchmark in June (₹92,849 crore) because of the second wave that hit India.
“The high collection in August, relating to actual business transactions in July 21, indicates the revival of economic activities across states,” said MS Mani, senior director at consultancy firm Deloitte India.
HOWEVER, GST COLLECTION IN AUGUST WAS 3.75% DOWN FROM THE JULY 2021 REVENUE OF ₹1,16,393 CRORE
NEW DELHI: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection crossed ₹1.12 lakh crore in August, a 29.6% year-on-year jump and the highest ever for the month since its launch five years ago, signalling robust recovery of business activities after the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic.
“Even as compared to the August revenues in 2019-20 [a non-Covid year] of ₹98,202 crore, this is a growth of 14%,” a finance ministry statement said.
Gross GST revenue hasn’t touched the ₹1 lakh crore mark in the month of August since its inception on July 1, 2017. According to official data, the GST collection in August 2017 was ₹95,633 crore, in 2018, ₹93,960 crore , in 2019, ₹98,202 crore, and in 2020, ₹86,449 crore.
GST collection in August this year, however, was 3.75% down from the July 2021 revenue of ₹1,16,393 crore.
Indirect tax collections, a weathervane of economic health, have now crossed the ₹1 lakh crore mark for two consecutive months after plunging below the benchmark in June (₹92,849 crore) because of the second wave that hit India.
MS Mani, senior director at consultancy firm Deloitte India said the collection in August this year is robust compared to the same period in previous years, and this uptrend is likely to continue. “The high collection in August, relating to actual business transactions in July 21, indicates the revival of economic activities across states at the beginning of the festival season and is expected to be sustained over the coming months,” he said.
According to official data, all states and Union territories (UTs), barring Daman and Diu, posted positive revenue growth in August.
Over 30% year-on-year revenue growth was reported from key manufacturing states such as Maharashtra (31% at ₹15,175 crore), Karnataka (35% at ₹7,429 crore), and Tamil Nadu (35% at ₹7,060 crore).
Out of the total ₹1,12,020 crore gross GST revenue, the central GST (CGST) component is ₹20,522 crore, state GST (SGST) is ₹26,605 crore, and integrated GST (IGST) is ₹56,247 crore.
“GST collection, after posting above ₹1 lakh crore mark for nine months in a row, dropped below ₹1 lakh crore in June 2021 due to the second wave of Covid. With the easing out of Covid restrictions, GST collection for July and August 2021 have again crossed ₹1 lakh crore, which clearly indicates that the economy is recovering at a fast pace,” the finance ministry’s statement said.
Coupled with economic growth, anti-evasion activities, especially action against fake billers have also been contributing to the enhanced GST collections, it added.
Abhishek Jain, a tax partner at consultancy firm EY India, said, “The collections are for the supplies made in the month of July when lockdown restrictions were relaxed for most parts of the country. With the increasing rate of vaccination and business supplies picking up the uptrend is expected to continue in coming months.”
Data from GSTN, the company that processes tax returns, showed that up to August 30, daily average e-way bills raised stood at 2.1 million, about 2% more than what was reported in July. This suggested that goods transportation within and across states is stabilizing and GST revenue for the Centre and states is likely to maintain the current level in September.