GST collection hits a record of ₹1.24 lakh crore in March

The government on Thursday (April 1) said the gross GST revenue collected in March this year has hit a record of ₹1,23,902 crore. Out of that amount CGST is ₹22,973 crore, SGST is ₹29,329 crore, IGST is ₹62,842 crore (including ₹31,097 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is ₹8,757 crore (including ₹935 crore collected on import of goods).

A note issued by the Ministry of Finance said the government has settled ₹21,879 crore to Central GST and ₹17,230 crore to SGST from IGST as regular settlement. In addition, Centre has also settled ₹28,000 crore as IGST ad-hoc settlement in the ratio of 50:50 between Centre and States/UTs.

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It said In line with the trend of recovery in the GST revenues over past five months, the revenues for the month of March 2021 are 27% higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year. “During the month, revenues from import of goods were 70% higher and the revenues from domestic transaction (including import of services) are 17% higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year,” said the Finance Ministry.

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It said GST revenues crossed above ₹1 lakh crore mark at a stretch for the last six months and an increasing trend over this period are clear indicators of rapid economic recovery post pandemic.

“Closer monitoring against fake-billing, deep data analytics using data from multiple sources, including GST, Income-tax and Customs IT systems and effective tax administration, have also contributed to the steady increase in tax revenue over the last few months,” the statement said.

The GST figures came two day after a UN report said that India’s economic output in 2021 is expected to remain below the 2019 level despite roll-out of the COVID vaccine.

Also read: UN, IMF expect Indian economy to bounce back strongly in 2021

The report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), released on Tuesday (March 30) said India is estimated to record an economic growth of 7 per cent in 2021-22, over a contraction of 7.7 per cent witnessed in the previous fiscal on account of the pandemic’s impact.

The report was part of the ‘Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2021: Towards post-COVID-19 resilient economies.’