At ₹92,000 crore, GST mop-up in September dives to a 19-month low

The collection from the Goods & Services Tax (GST) dipped to a 19-month low in September to ₹91,916 crore. The previous low was ₹85,962 crore, collected in February 2018.

Since GST is a destination-based tax, the current downtrend in consumption is said to have impacted collections.

The mop-up is also below the Budget estimate of ₹1-lakh crore plus. Though the government is expecting consumption to pick up during the second half, it will still find it difficult to meet the fiscal deficit target as direct tax collection continues to be anaemic. Also, the recent announcements on corporate tax reduction will result in revenue foregone of ₹1.45-lakh crore.

MS Mani, Partner with Deloitte India, said the lower collections reflect lower GDP growth numbers as, being a transaction tax, GST is immediately impacted by any decline in economic activity. However, the upcoming festival season will improve collections, he added.

Sops, too, will help

Abhishek Jain, Tax Partner at EY, said that with the recently announced fiscal and economic measures coupled with the upcoming festival season, both demand and the related GST collections may get a boost in the coming months.

“Stricter measures against tax evasion and audits by the revenue authorities may also help improve collections,” he said.

Revenue during September declined 2.67 per cent year-on-year. During April-September this year, the domestic component grew 7.82 per cent (y-o-y), while the GST on imports showed negative growth. Total collection grew 4.90 per cent.

CGST, SGST collections

Out of the total gross GST collection, the CGST (Central GST) was ₹16,630 crore, SGST (State GST) ₹22,598 crore, and IGST (Integrated GST) ₹45,069 crore (including ₹22,097 crore collected on imports).

Cess collection stood at ₹7,620 crore (including ₹728 crore collected on imports).

The total number of GSTR 3B Returns filed for the month of August (up to September 30) was 75.94 lakh. The government has settled ₹21,131 crore towards the CGST and ₹15,121 crore towards the SGST from the IGST, as regular settlement.

The total revenue earned by the Centre and the State governments after regular settlement in September was ₹37,761 crore for CGST and ₹37,719 crore for SGST.