GST collections at ₹1.44-lakh crore in June

GST collection in the month of June touched ₹1.44-lakh crore, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced here on Friday. “₹1.4-lakh crore is the rough bottom line now for GST collections,” she said.

This is the second highest number ever after ₹1.6-lakh crore plus was collected in April. “Coupled with economic recovery, anti-evasion activities, especially action against fake billers, have been contributing to the enhanced GST. The gross cess collection in this month is the highest since the introduction of GST,” a statement by the Finance Ministry said.

Bettering 2021

The revenues for June are 56 per cent higher than those recorded in the year-ago period (₹92,800 crore). During the month, revenue from import of goods was 55 per cent higher and those from domestic transaction (including import of services) was 56 per cent higher than it was in June 2021.

For the fifth time, the monthly GST collection crossed ₹1.40-lakh-crore mark since the inception of GST, and fourth month at a stretch since March. Total number of e-way bills generated in May was 7.3 crore, which is 2 per cent less than 7.4 crore recorded in April, said the statement.

Statewise collections up

MS Mani, Partner with Deloitte India, said the high GST collections, which leads to a new monthly normal of ₹1.4-lakh crore during Q1 of FY23, comes on the heels of several macroeconomic parameters being on the upswing.

“The increase in Statewise collections compared to the same month last year is impressive as many large States have shown an increase in excess of 40 per cent. Since this comes in the backdrop of the guaranteed compensation to States coming to an end, it would assuage many States who were worried about their revenue mobilisation ability in the post cess period,” he said.

Up, up and away

Vivek Jalan, Partner with Tax Connect Advisory, said collection would further rise due to activities of GST scrutinies, summons, investigations, searches and seizures on the basis of data provided by DGARM, the data analytics wing of the GST Council. On April 1, 2022, as many as 35,000 taxpayers’ scrutiny assessments were sent to field formations for initiation. This will be followed up by GST audits which will ensure that collections are further enhanced.

Suspending/cancellation of GST number when there is a mismatch between GST returns, blocking of Input Tax Credit (ITC) of taxpayers where there is a ‘reason to believe’ that some suspicious activity is taking place, etc., have ensured that compliances under GST have improved.

The above, “seems to be a clear Indication to trade and industry that robust compliances is the way ahead under GST. The requirement of current business is that it has to concurrently keep its GST and income tax books sanitised and be ‘scrutiny ready’ at all times,” Jalan added.

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