GST Collections Cross Rs 1 Lakh Crore-Mark For December

The government’s goods and services tax collections for December crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore-mark only the third time since it was introduced.

The data may be a temporary reprieve for the Narendra Modi-administration as GST collections had been falling for the past two months. The government’s finances are under stress as it races to meet its 3.4-percent fiscal deficit target.

“Exceeding 1 lakh crore mark for the third time comes as a welcome relief for the Government, particularly after some dip in the last month. This again underlines that collections are increasing steadily as compliances are getting simplified, rates are getting reduced and administration is getting sharper,” Pratik Jain, Partner, Indirect Tax, at PwC India said in an emailed statement. “That said, it's clear that overall collection for the entire year would be significantly lower than what was budgeted. It will be interesting to see whether the estimated collections in the next financial year would reflect the collection trend in the current year.”

Updates earlier copy with the latest numbers released by the Finance Ministry