GST Collections Stay Above Rs 1.4 Lakh Crore For Ninth Straight Month

India's monthly goods and services tax revenue in November remained above Rs 1.4 lakh crore for the ninth month in a row.

GST collections for November, reflecting transactions in October, stood at Rs 1,45,867 crore, after a festive season high of Rs 1,51,718 crore in October, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Finance. It is 11% higher than the corresponding period last year.

"The sequential dip in collections in November relative to October, reflects the boost from quarter-end payments in the latter month, as the inflows in each month pertain to the activity in the previous month," said Aditi Nayar, chief economist with ICRA Ltd. The collections were in line with expectations, she said.

While festive spending is assessed to have been high in October 2022, the generation of GST e-way bills had moderated sequentially, given a higher number of holidays in that month, Nayar said.

The highest-ever GST revenue collected was in April—for transactions in March—at Rs 1.67 lakh crore, in line with the higher collection trend observed at the end of the fiscal.

As a result, India's monthly GST revenue has remained above Rs 1.4 lakh crore for the ninth month in a row, accounting for transactions done in February.

In a recent interview with the PTI, Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj said that this fiscal's tax collections will be about Rs 4 lakh crore more than the budgeted amount. This is because income tax, customs duty, and GST mop-up are all showing gains.

He expected the total tax collection to be about Rs 31.50 lakh crore in 2022–2023. This would be made up of Rs 17.50 lakh crore in direct taxes, consisting of personal and corporate taxes, and Rs 14 lakh crore in indirect taxes such as customs, excise, and GST.

The government's budgetary tax collection target for direct taxes is Rs 14.20 lakh crore, while for indirect taxes it is Rs 13.30 lakh crore, making up for a total target of Rs 27.50 lakh crore.