GST collections lower below Rs 1L cr in August

Goods and services tax (GST) collections registered a drop below the psychological Rs 1 lakh crore in August 2019, which was 4.5% higher than a year ago but 3.8% lower than the mop-up in July. According to the finance minister’s latest data, GST collection estimated for August is Rs 98,202 crore. While central and state GST collections grew by around 15% each compared to August 2018, integrated GST was almost 2% lower, partly due to weak imports. Cess on luxury and sin goods fell 4.6% led by the slump in auto sales.

During April-August 2019, overall GST collections are estimated at Rs 5.1 lakh crore, compared with Rs 4.8 lakh crore a year ago — a rise of 6.4%, which is just half the asking rate as the government has budgeted for a growth of 13% for the current financial year.

The latest numbers will pile additional pressure on the government, given that the performance so far has been below par and the problem is compounded by the economic slowdown, which has resulted in a sharp drop in the sale of automobiles and consumer goods.

“This slight dip in revenue below Rs 1 lakh crore may be linked to the general slowdown in industry. However, a growth vis-a-vis the same month in the last year does reflect better GST compliance and payment,” said Abhishek Jain, tax partner at consulting firm EY.

While compliance in terms of filing by the due date improved from 67 lakh for August 2018 to 76 lakh this August, several states, especially the so-called industrialised ones, have seen collections grow lower than the promised 14% rate. The finance ministry said that Rs 27,955 crore have been released to the states as GST compensation for June-July, 2019.