For the first time this year, the government witnessed a speed breaker on the Goods and Service Tax (GST) front as India's gross GST revenue collection fell below the Rs 1 lakh crore mark for the first time this year. The lower figures are a result of disruptions caused by the fresh wave of the coronavirus pandemic, clocking the collections at Rs 92,849 crore in June 2021.
For the last eight consecutive months, the GST collection was more than Rs 1 lakh crore. In terms of If gross GST revenue in June, it includes Rs 16,424 crore as CGST, Rs 20,397 crore for SGST and Rs 49,079 crore for IGST including cess of Rs 6,949 crore. According to the statement issued by the government, the GST revenue in June is 2% more than the same period last year.
However, even though the revenues during June 2021 are lower than the over Rs 1 lakh crore collections recorded in the previous month and a record Rs 1.41 lakh crore collection made in April, it is still a growth over June 2020 collections when GST numbers had remained low due to the first set of lockdowns.
This figure of GST collection is from June 5 to July 5, when the government gave all tax-related concessions. Taxpayers whose total turnover was up to Rs 5 crore were given relief in interest on the delay of 15 days in filing returns in June. It also includes the extension of the ITR filing deadline by 15 days. Apart from this, a cut in interest rates is also included. The government has settled CGST of Rs 19,286 crore and SGST of Rs 16,939 crore from IGST in June as a regular settlement.
With June collections staying close to below the Rs 1 lakh crore mark, it would be the first month after a gap of eight months in a row when GST revenues had remained above the threshold. The collection is surprising as most of the States have been under strict lockdown due to the pandemic.
A finance ministry statement said that the e-way bill data for the month of May 2021 shows that during the month, 3.99 crore e-way bills were generated as compared to 5.88 crore in the month of April 2021, down by more than 30 per cent. However, with a reduction in caseload and easing of lockdowns, the e-way bills generated during June 2021 are 5.5 crore which indicates recovery of trade and business. The daily average generation of e-way bills for the first two weeks of April 2021 was 20 lakh, which came down to 16 lakh in the last week of April 2021 and further to 12 lakh in the two weeks between 9th to 22nd May.
Thereafter, the ministry said, the average generation of e-way bills has been increasing and has again reached the 20 lakh level since the week beginning 20th June. Therefore, it is expected that while the GST revenues have dipped during the month of June, the revenues will see an increase again from July 2021 onwards, the finance ministry said.