GST collections up: Rs 95,480 cr for September

The rise, however, also partly reflected the impact of a low base effect from September 2019, when GST revenues had contracted 2.7 per cent to fall to a 19-month low of Rs 91,916 crore — the second instance since the July 2017 rollout of the indirect tax regime.

Marking the first instance of a year-on-year increase in the financial year 2020-21, gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections rose 3.9 per cent to Rs 95,480 crore in September, for sales in August, reflecting a pick-up in economic activity with the easing of Covid restrictions, according to data released Thursday by the Finance Ministry.

The rise, however, also partly reflected the impact of a low base effect from September 2019, when GST revenues had contracted 2.7 per cent to fall to a 19-month low of Rs 91,916 crore — the second instance since the July 2017 rollout of the indirect tax regime.

Also, the GST revenues this September includes those from small businesses with turnover up to Rs 5 crore for whom the filing and tax payment deadlines were extended for May, June and July to September 12, 23, 27 and September 15, 25 and 29, depending on the respective categorisation of states. No such extension was granted for businesses with turnover over Rs 5 crore.

Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey said that over 5.74 crore e-way bills were generated in September, pointing to a “very affirmative sign of economic recovery with increased business activities”.

He said that major industrial states have shown a positive growth in GST collection, which indicates that economic recovery is on track. “With the festive season coming in the next month, we are much confident of better recovery in GST collection,” he said.

According to Pandey, the generation of e-way bills rose 9.3 per cent year-on-year in September, with a record increase of 26.19 lakh on September 30.

Sequentially, the GST revenue in September recorded a 10.4 per cent increase from Rs 86,449 crore collected in August. Cumulatively, the GST revenues have recorded a 25 per cent decline during April-September for sales in March-August.

“The revenues for the month are 4% higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year. During the month, the revenues from import of goods were 102% and the revenues from domestic transactions (including import of services) were 105 % of the revenues from these sources during the same month last year,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

Out of Rs 95,480 crore collected in September, Rs 17,741 crore is Central GST; Rs 23,131 crore State GST; Rs 47,484 crore Integrated GST, including Rs 22,442 crore collected on import of goods; and, Rs 7,124 crore Cess, including Rs 788 crore on import of goods, the statement said.

The government settled Rs 21,260 crore to CGST and Rs 16,997 crore to SGST from IGST as regular settlement. After this, the total revenue earned by Centre is Rs 39,001 crore as CGST and by states is Rs 40,128 crore as SGST, the Ministry said.

The detailed break-up for GST collections raised in various states showed that barring Northeastern states and Union Territories, most states recorded a pick-up in GST collections in September.

Tax experts said GST collections are expected to improve further due to festive season demand.

M S Mani, Partner, Deloitte India, said: “A modest increase of 4% in the GST collections compared to the previous year indicates that the economic recovery process is underway, with some key large states also reporting increased collections. If the present trends of GST collections continue, we should be hopeful of significant increases in the coming months based on the unlockdown steps taken in various states and the festival season ahead.”

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