In Odisha, the GST collection in April 2019 was Rs 927.60 crores and Rs 360.36 crores during last April 2020 amid the pandemic.

As per the Commissionerate of Central Taxes (CT) and GST, Odisha said the previous highest Odisha Goods and Services Tax (OGST) was Rs 954.62 crore, which was collected in March. "The rise in collection during April '21 is a result of proper compliance, increased collection from iron and steel sector as well as collection from matured GST demand made by tax officers after return scrutiny," said Commissionerate of CT and GST in a statement.

There is also a collection of Rs 952.43 crore in CGST, 1157.05 crore in IGST and 613.33 crore in cess. The total GST collection during April 2021 is also the highest ever with Rs 3849.48 crore as against Rs 2955.60 crore collected during April 2019 and Rs 774.29 crore collected during April 2020. Since all VAT paying dealers (Petrol and Liquor) had paid tax till March 25, during the month of March itself, the balance collection of the remaining 5 days i.e. Rs 218.95 crore was collected during April'21 as against Rs 130.11 crore during April '20 and Rs 183.92 crore during April '19 with the growth rate of 68.28 percent.

Out of the above, collection from petroleum products registered a growth of 175.31 per cent with the collection of Rs 166.87 crore in April '21 against Rs 60.61 crore in April '20. CT and GST Organisation has been focusing on increasing the tax-base of GST with regular survey and registration. 52,210 numbers of new registrants have been brought under the GST fold in the FY 20-21.

All revenue circles have been instructed to ensure 90 per cent return filing within due date. 1,29,711 number of GSTR 3A notices have been issued to non filers while 19,268 assessment under section 62 have been initiated for non filing of returns in the current Financial Year. "The total ewaybill generated during April '21 was 15.28 lakh against 11.91 lakh during April '19 and 3.56 lakh during April '20 (affected by COVID)."

During the recent review with tax Officials, Commissioner of CT and GST, Sushil Kumar Lohani, has instructed all the field officers to detect the wrong return filers by applying data analytics and collect all taxes from them as per the provisions of law. Tax Officials have been further instructed to facilitate genuine tax payers and ensure that they are not put to any unnecessary harassment.