GST revenues up 44% at ₹1.41 lakh cr in May
NEW DELHI: Goods and services tax (GST) revenues bucked the two-month rising trend in May and stood at nearly ₹1.41 lakh crore, registering a year- onyear increase of 44%.
May GST revenues were lower than the record high collection in April at ₹ 1.68 lakh crore and also the ₹1.42 lakh crore of March. However, it is still the fourth highest collection since the rollout of the indirect tax regime on July 1, 2017.
In February, revenues from taxes on sale of goods and services was ₹ 1.33 lakh crore, while in January it was ₹1,40,986 crore.
According to the Union finance ministry, “the gross GST revenue collected in May 2022 is ₹ 1,40,885 crore of which CGST is ₹25,036 crore, SGST is ₹32,001 crore, IGST is ₹ 73,345 crore ( including ₹ 37,469 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is ₹10,502 crore (including ₹931 crore collected on import of goods).”
Revenues for May 2022 are 44% higher than the GST revenues in the same month of the previous year at ₹97,821 crore.
This is the fourth time that the monthly GST collection has crossed the ₹ 1.40 lakh crore mark since the inception of GST and the third straight month since March 2022.
“The collection in May, which pertains to the returns for April, the first month of the financial year, has always been less than that in April, which pertains to the returns for March, the closing of the financial year. However, it is encouraging to see that even in May 2022, the gross GST revenues have crossed the ₹ 1.40 lakh crore mark,” the ministry said.
The total number of e-way bills generated in April 2022 was 7.4 crore, which is 4% less than 7.7 crore e-way bills generated in March 2022.
The stability demonstrated by GST collections exceeding ₹ 1.4 lakh crore over the past three months is an indicator of the growth of the economy and ties in with the other macroeconomic indicators including GDP numbers, said Deloitte India Partner M.S. Mani. “Significant efforts in audits and analytics have also led to a drive against tax evaders, inculcating a tax compliance culture,” Mani said.
ICRA chief economist Aditi Nayar said the high year-onyear growth reflects the low base of the second wave.