GST collection for Jan climbs to record ₹1.4Lcr
JANUARY IS THE 7TH CONSECUTIVE MONTH WHEN THE GST COLLECTION FIGURE HAS STAYED ABOVE ₹1 LAKH CRORE
NEW DELHI: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection in January, 2022 was more than ₹1.40 lakh crore, the first time it clocked in this high, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during her Budget speech on Tuesday.
The finance minister and experts said the figure represented a robust recovery in the economy, which has been battered over the last two years by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Gross GST collection in January at record ₹1,40,986 crores; this has been possible due to rapid economic recovery,” she said while presenting the Budget in the Lok Sabha.
Prior to this, the highest amount collected as part of the indirect tax in a month was ₹1,39,708 crore in April, 2021.
January is the seventh consecutive month the figure has been above ₹1lakh crore, and the fourth that it was more than ₹1.30 lakh crore.
Experts said going forward, the average monthly GST mopups could remain above the ₹1.30 lakh crore.
“With the economic normalisation slowly underway, the run rate for indirect tax collections is expected to improve to a monthly rate of ~₹1.3trn (1.30 lakh crore), versus ₹0.95trn (lakh crore) and ₹1.22trn (lakh crore) during FY20-21 and FY21-22, respectively. We believe there could be some upside on GST revenues, especially if GST rates are raised in future GST council meetings,” said Rahul Bajoria, managing director & chief India economist, Barclays.
The GST taxation system came into force on July 1, 2017.
On Monday, when it became clear the rake-in would be at least the second-highest ever, experts said ₹1.40 lakh crore was a benchmark that would soon be reached.
“The GST collections have once again surpassed expectations, coming in the eve of the Budget day. The fact that the collections are now inching closer to the ₹1.40 lakh crore monthly mark leads to expectations of high but stable GST collections in the FY23 budgetary exercise,” MS Mani, partner at consultancy firm Deloitte India said.
In January, revenues from import of goods was 26% higher and the revenues from domestic transaction, including import of services, 12% higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year, the finance ministry said on Monday.
Abhishek A Rastogi, partner at law firm Khaitan & Co said: “The trend in GST collections, month after months, proves that economy is recovering fast and businesses have revived. The Budget that will be announced on Tuesday, is expected to further boost the business activities.”
Coupled with economic recovery, anti-evasion activities, especially action against fake billers have been contributing to the enhanced GST, the finance ministry said. “The improvement in revenue has also been due to various rate rationalization measures undertaken by the Council to correct inverted duty structure. It is expected that the positive trend in the revenues will continue in the coming months as well,” it said.