Signalling what could be in store for the State in terms of collection of Goods and Service Tax (GST) for the month of May, when the State was in lockdown, the collection fell by 42% from March while the COVID-19 pandemic was raging in Bengaluru.
The total GST collection, including cess, fell from ₹9,954 crore in March to ₹5,731 crore in April. This is expected to slide steeply in the month of May, the figures for which are expected this month. The fall in collection for April came after a record collection in the country in March.
For the State, the net collection from State Goods and Services Tax (SGST), Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) settlement, Karnataka Sales Tax, and Professional Tax dipped from ₹7,123 crore in March to ₹4,304 crore in April — a 40% decline. This is excluding the compensation received.
“We have not calculated a possible dip for May, but it could be big considering what has come for the month of April and the lockdown in place in May,” a senior Finance Department official said.
While the State has been under lockdown since May 10 to curb the spread of COVID-19, restrictions were in place across Karnataka since the last week of April. Nearly 20 districts have implemented a stricter lockdown than the Statewide lockdown in May.
KST also down
Similarly, the collection of one of the important sources of revenue for the State — Karnataka Sales Tax (KST) — is also down. While ₹1,885 crore was collected for March, it was down to ₹1,620 crore in April — a decline of about 14 %. With lockdown restrictions on movement of vehicles bringing down petrol and diesel consumption in May, it is expected to go down further.
The collection of Professional Tax is also down from ₹106.28 crore to ₹82.75 crore in the two months. But in comparison to the corresponding two months last year, the collection improved slightly to ₹189 crore, as against ₹182 crore.
Last year was worse
The figures for April/May this year are far better when compared to the corresponding months of 2020, when the national lockdown was in force. A total GST collection of ₹15,686 crore has been reported this year, as against ₹6,537 crore last year — a 139% increase.
On the Sales Tax front too, the collection of ₹3,506 crore this year, as against ₹1,662 crore last year, is more than double for the two months, with a growth of 110%.
