GST Collections Remain Above Rs 1 Lakh Crore For Second Straight Month

The government’s goods and services tax collection remained above the Rs 1-lakh-crore-mark for the second consecutive month as consumption picked up amid the festive season after India lifted lockdown restrictions.

GST revenue for October, collected in November, stood at Rs 1.05 lakh crore, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance. That was largely unchanged compared to the previous month and 1.4% higher than October 2019.

“While the mild month-on-month dip in the headline GST collections in November relative to the previous month is discouraging, the sharp decline in their year-on-year growth can be attributed to the base effect, related to the shift in the festive dates,” Aditi Nayar, vice-president and principal economist at ICRA Ltd., said in an emailed statement. “On a positive note, the average pace of growth in GST collections in October-November stood at a moderately healthy 6%. The trends regarding the sustainability of demand will be clearer in the data on the GST collections for December, which will be for the transactions that took place in the month of November.”

Breakup of GST collections for October:

• Central GST: Rs 19,189 crore
• State GST: Rs 25,540 crore
• Integrated GST: Rs 51,992 crore (including Rs 22,078 crore collected on import of goods)
• Compensation cess: Rs 8,242 crore (including Rs 809 crore collected on import of goods)

Integrated GST is settled between states and the central government based on consumption in respective states. After the settlement, central and state GST stood at Rs 41,482 crore and Rs 41,826 crore, respectively. Total monthly GSTR-3B returns filed for October, as on Nov. 30, were 82 lakh, the statement said.

“The sharp moderation in growth in generation of GST e-way bills in November relative to the previous month signals the impact of the change in working days related to the shift in the festive calendar. Nevertheless, the average growth of GST e-way bills in October-November surpassed that for the month of September, which is encouraging,” Nayar said.