The government’s goods and services tax collection stayed above Rs 1 lakh crore for the fifth straight month.
GST revenue for January 2021, collected in February, was at Rs 1.13 lakh crore, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance. That was 7% higher over the year earlier, but 6% lower than the preceding month—an all-time high.
“GST revenue crossed Rs 1 lakh crore fifth time in a row and crossed Rs 1.1 lakh crore third time in a row post pandemic. This is a clear indication of economic recovery and the impact of various measures taken by tax administration to improve compliance,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement.
Breakup of GST collections for December:
Though the February collection is lower than in January, it remained “healthy”, said Aditi Nayar, principal economist, ICRA Ltd.
“Subsequently, a favourable base effect is likely to result in the CGST collections expanding by 18-23% in March 2021. However, the settlement of IGST of Rs. 48,000 crore between the centre and the states, will adversely impact the net CGST+IGST revenues of the centre in February 2021, resulting in a moderation in the growth of its gross and net tax revenues in that month. This could be a key reason why the FY2021 Revised E stimate implicitly built in a contraction in CGST +IGST of 27% in Q4 FY2021.”
