GST collections move up 8.3% to Rs. 1.05 TRN in Feb

Central and state governments collected Rs. 1.05 trillion in Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue in February, a tad lower than the Rs. 1.1 trillion mopped up in the previous month, official data showed. Collections in February represents an 8.3% growth over receipts in the same time a year ago.

This is the fourth consecutive month of GST receipts remaining above the Rs. 1 trillion mark this financial year after collections had shown a contraction in October and November from the comparable period a year ago. The improvement in GST receipts comes in the wake of efforts by Central and state government officials to step up compliance.

An official statement from the finance ministry said that 8.3 million monthly summary GST returns have been filed for the month of January, upto 29 February. Tax collections in February refers to transactions in January.

The improvement in GST collections is likely to offer some comfort to the federal indirect tax body, the GST Council, which is expected to meet later this month. Steps to improve revenue receipts and addressing the anomalies in the tax structure are among the issues that are likely to be taken up by the Council.

After settlement of taxes on inter-state supplies, the central government earned Rs. 43,155 crore in February, while states collectively made Rs. 43,901 crore.

“With the monthly collections now stabilising at over Rs. 1 trillion a month, the authorities would now go all out to enhance collections in March so that the GST revenue deficit is reduced to the extent possible,” said M.S. Mani, partner at Deloitte India.

Punjab, Delhi and Maharashtra reported 12% growth in revenue receipts in February from a year ago, while Gujarat reported an 11% growth. Karnataka reported a 15% growth in collections in February from a year ago, while Tamil Nadu showed 8% jump, official data showed.