Punjab’s GST up 124% year-on-year in first quarter amid second wave
CHANDIGARH: Punjab has posted 124% year-on-year growth in the goods and services tax (GST) revenue in the first quarter of the financial year 2021-22 despite the more devastating second Covid-19 wave.
The state government has reported the GST collection, including state goods and services tax (SGST) and integrated goods and services tax (IGST), of Rs 3,441.60 crore in the April-june quarter of 2021-22 as compared to Rs 1,540 crore during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, according to data compiled by the taxation department. The year-on-year growth has come amid the second wave of coronavirus which was far more dangerous than the first one witnessed last year in terms of the number of infections and fatalities.
“Like the first wave, strict lockdown restrictions were imposed to curb the spread of the more infectious variants of the virus, hitting consumer sentiments and demand. But, unlike the first wave, there was no blanket curfew across the state this time and people were also inured to restrictions,” said an industry watcher who runs his own manufacturing unit but refused to be identified.
The GST mop-up stood at Rs 1,087.67 crore in June 2021, up 25% from Rs 870 crore in the corresponding month of the previous year, according to month-wise break-up. In May, the collection was Rs 872 crore as compared to Rs 514 crore during the same month of financial year 2020-21 when the collection was really sluggish, reporting a jump of 70%.
With the second wave waning to a considerable effect, the state government has gradually eased restrictions and commercial activity is expected to look up further in the coming months, according to state officials. The number of active Covid cases had hit the peak of 79,963 on May 12 in the state before starting a descent and dropped to 3,134 on June 30.
“Implementation of measures to ease the compliance burden of taxpayers, closer monitoring against bogus billing, rigorous enforcement, advanced data analytics using data from multiple sources and effective tax administration have also contributed to the steady increase in tax revenue, a taxation official said.
Unlike the first wave, there was no blanket curfew across the state this time and people were also inured to restrictions AN INDUSTRY WATCHER
Windfall from VAT
Besides the GST, the valueadded tax (VAT) collection has also soared in the April-june quarter, going up by 107% over the previous fiscal, as fuel prices have been on an upward trajectory in the past one year. With every hike, the state’s kitty swells. Against the VAT revenue of Rs 993 crore in the first three months of 2020-21, Rs 2,052.49 crore have been collected this year so far. Of the total value-added tax, 90% comes from diesel and petrol and the remaining 10% from three other petroleum products, including aviation turbine fuel.