Since the GST filing period has been extended by 15 days due to disruptions led by the coronavirus pandemic, actual collections are expected to be recorded by tomorrow.

A severe fall in economic activity due to the nationwide lockdown in the month of April led to a steep fall in the month’s GST collections. The government collected around Rs 43,000 crore as GST in April 2020, CNBC TV18 said citing sources. Since the GST filing period has been extended by 15 days due to disruptions led by the coronavirus pandemic, actual collections are expected to be recorded by tomorrow. The collection of Rs 43,000 crore has been recorded until today’s morning. April’s collection is expected to remain less than half of the March’s collection (Rs 97,597 crore), which was already much below the monthly target.

Last year, the GST collections in April stood at Rs 1.13 lakh crore, which was the highest ever GST collections so far. The strongest impact of the nationwide lockdown was felt in April as the restrictions were strict and the businesses and industries were almost at a standstill. Later, after April 20, a few restrictions were lifted and the economic activity was partially allowed. Further, in the month of May, more activities were allowed by the Modi government.

Also Read: Factory output in April may have shrunk by 40%; one week lockdown pushed March IIP to record low

The economic downturn in the month of April can be gauged by the estimates that following the worst contraction of 16.7 per cent in the industrial production in March, IIP likely shrunk by 35-40 per cent in April 2020, according to a report by Care Ratings. The rating agency also predicted that the manufacturing sector contracted by 40-45 per cent; mining by 15-20 per cent; and electricity production fell by 20-25 per cent in the month. The steep fall in business activities was witnessed even as some relief in lockdown restrictions were given after April 20. Even the industries which were partially allowed to carry out operations, such as textiles, wearing apparel, chemicals, and refined petroleum products, may have contracted in April.