May’s GST collections dip to ₹1.02L-cr after April record

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection in May 2021 remained above the ₹1 lakh crore mark despite many parts of the country being hit by a devastating second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to lockdowns in key business centres in Maharashtra and Delhi from April this year.

The GST revenue in May -which reflects the actual business activities of the previous month -- however, fell by over 27% at ₹1,02,709 crore compared to the record collections of ₹1,41,384 crore in April (reflecting actual business transactions of March 2021).

The GST collections maintained the ₹1 lakh crore-benchmark trend for the eighth consecutive month.

“The revenues for the month of May 2021 are 65% higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year [₹62,151 crore],” the Union finance ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

The Indian economy was hit hard in the first quarter of the previous year because of a 68-day national lockdown since March 25, 2020. The severity of the lockdowns since April this year was lower.

MS Mani of Deloitte India said the collections may indicate that the disruptions due to the lockdown were lower than what was anticipated.