GST collections surge to record ₹1.2 L-cr in Jan

TAX COLLECTION IN JANUARY BEAT THE PREVIOUS COLLECTION OF ₹1,15,174 CRORE IN THE LAST MONTH

NEW DELHI: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection in January 2021 was an all-time high at around ₹1.20 lakh crore, which exceeded the ₹1 lakh crore benchmark for the fourth consecutive month and posted positive growth for the fifth month in a row since September, indicating sustained business recovery.

The tax collection in January 2021 beat the previous collection record of ₹1,15,174 crore in the last month, according to official data released late night on Sunday.

So far, the GST collection in January 2021 is ₹1,19,847 crore, an 8.15% jump from ₹1,10,818 crore collected in January 2020. “The numbers are still being compiled. So far, figures are available up to 6pm on January 31. Thus the final collection figure may go up further, marginally,” an official said, requesting anonymity.

The official GST collection data for a month is usually released by the Union finance ministry on the first day of the next month. As finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Budget for 2021-22 on February 1, the GST collection data was released on Sunday, the official said.

“The robust GST collection signifies full revival of Indian economy on the back of stimulus packages (over ₹20 lakh crore) announced by the government and the launch of the indigenously developed Covid-19

vaccines. This is also shown in the increased number of GST returns filed by businessmen,” a second official said on condition of anonymity.

According to the official data, the total number of monthly returns filed for the month of December up to January 31 was 9 million, up from 8.7 million in the previous month, posting a 3.45% growth.

“Another major reason for an increasingly robust collection is better tax administration through systematic changes that helped in checking tax evasion. We have employed data analytics and artificial intelligence to find anomalies. Coordinated action with the income tax department and other arms of the government have bore results,” he said.

MS Mani, partner at consulting firm Deloitte India, said: “The record GST collections coming on the eve of the budget signifies the sustained revival in economic activities across several sectors and states. The trend of good GST collections could continue in the remaining months of the current fiscal year as several service sectors such as hospitality, travel and entertainment open up further across states.”