India’s gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenues crossed ₹1.17 lakh crore in September, hitting a five-month high, and the Finance Ministry expects the positive trend to pick up further pace in the second half of the year.
September’s revenues were 23% higher than a year ago and 27.3% more than collections in the pre-pandemic month of September 2019. “Coupled with economic growth, anti-evasion activities, especially action against fake billers have also been contributing to the enhanced GST collections,” the Finance Ministry said.
Compliance levels
For the eighth month in a row, the Ministry did not release any data on compliance levels or the number of GSTR 3B returns filed by taxpayers. State-wise revenue trends were disclosed for the third month in a row, after being skipped in January, April, May and June.
Revenues from import of goods were 30% higher while indirect tax collected on domestic transactions, including the import of services, were 20% higher in September, compared to the same month in 2020.
The significant increase in GST collections both from import and domestic transactions and the marked increase in the collections in key States indicates country-wide acceleration in business activities, said MS Mani, senior director at Deloitte India. “Most of the key manufacturing states reporting a growth of over 20%,” he pointed out.
Among the major States, GST revenues grew 29% in Karnataka, 28% in Gujarat, followed by 22% in Maharashtra and 21% each in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Telangana recorded a 25% surge in revenues, while Odisha saw a sharper 40% rise.
“The average monthly gross GST collection for the second quarter of the current year has been ₹1.15 lakh crore, which is 5% higher than the average monthly collection of ₹1.10 lakh crore in the first quarter of the year. This clearly indicates that the economy is recovering at a fast pace,” the finance ministry said.
“Although the pace of growth eased relative to the 30% logged in August 2021, this owes to a normalising base,” noted Aditi Nayar, chief economist at ICRA. “The release of GST compensation cess of ₹22,000 crore will benefit the States' cash flow situation, allowing accelerated spending in the third quarter of 2021-22 that would complement the expected boost to central government spending after the easing of cash management guidelines,” she said.
“With the festive season around the corner, GST collections should also see a rise in the near future,” said Rajat Bose, partner at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co.
