GST revenue for September over ₹1.17 lakh crore; economy recovering, Govt says

The gross GST revenue collected in September 2021 touched a five-month high at ₹1.17 lakh crore, above the ₹1 lakh crore mark for the third month in a row, the finance ministry said on Friday.

The September collection was the highest in five months since April, when revenue was at a record high of ₹1.41 lakh crore.

The collection has raised expectations that the second half of the year will post higher revenues. The tax collections in September 2021 was 23 per cent higher than in the corresponding month last year (₹95,480 crore), and 27 per cent higher than in September 2019 ( ₹ 91,916 crore).

The average monthly gross GST collection for the second quarter of the current year has been Rs 1.15 lakh crore – five per cent higher than the average monthly collection of ₹ 1.10 lakh crore in the first quarter of the year.

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The revival of economic activities and proper compliance by vendors of big firms have resulted in the rise in monthly GST collections. The festive season is also expected to improve the trend.

The finance ministry said: “Coupled with economic growth, anti-evasion activities, especially action against fake billers, have also been contributing to the enhanced GST collections. It is expected that the positive trend in the revenues will continue and the second half of the year will post higher revenue.”

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The GST revenue recorded in August 2020 stood at ₹86,449 crore and rose to ₹95,480 crore in September 2020. On a year-on-year basis, the GST revenue has shown 29.6 per cent rise in August and 4 per cent rise in September.

GST’s overall revenue growth is a concern as the states should be compensated for the revenue shortfall as mandated.

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Two ministerial panels were constituted by the finance ministry since the rollout of GST in July 2017. According to an order released on September 24, a “review” on the current slab structure has been organised under the Terms of Reference. The Centre has released compensation of ₹22,000 crore to the states.