At Rs .41 lakh crore, GST revenue sets new record

NEW DELHI: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue collection for April 2021 hit yet another peak of Rs 1,41,384 crore. This was over 14 per cent higher than the previous record of Rs 1,23,902 crore in March, and an increase of nearly 24 per cent when compared to Rs 1.13 lakh crore collected in the same month last year. With the latest figures, the GST collections maintained the Rs 1 lakh crore benchmark trend for the seventh consecutive month.

“Despite the second wave of coronavirus pandemic affecting several parts of the country, Indian businesses have once again shown remarkable resilience by not only complying with the return filing requirements but also paying their GST dues in a timely manner during the month,” the finance ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Of the total collections, central GST amounts to about Rs 27,837 crore, state GST is Rs 35,621 crore, integrated GST is Rs 68,481 crore (including Rs 29,599 crore collected on import of goods) and Rs 9,445 crore cess. According to the government, close monitoring against fake-billing, deep data analytics using data from multiple sources including GST, Income- tax and customs IT systems and effective tax administration have also contributed to the increase in this month’s revenue.

“These are clear indicators of sustained economic recovery during this period,” the statement noted. Experts, however, have dismissed the claim and said that these GST figures reflect transactions in March, but collected in April. The real impact of lockdown will be reflected in the collection of May and June. “The all-time high collections, which relate to supplies made on March, could now give way to muted collections in the coming months due to the lower economic activities in April,” said MS Mani, senior director, Deloitte India.