GST February Collections Cross Rs 1 Lakh Crore For Fifth Straight Month

The government's goods and services tax collection stayed above Rs 1 lakh crore for the fifth straight month.

GST revenue for January 2021, collected in February, was at Rs 1.13 lakh crore, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance. That was 7% higher over the year earlier, but 6% lower than the preceding month—an all-time high.

“GST revenue crossed Rs 1 lakh crore fifth time in a row and crossed Rs 1.1 lakh crore third time in a row post pandemic. This is a clear indication of economic recovery and the impact of various measures taken by tax administration to improve compliance,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

Breakup of GST collections for December:

• Central GST: Rs 21,092 crore
• State GST: Rs 27,273 crore
• Integrated GST: Rs 55,253 crore (including Rs 24,382 crore collected on import of goods)
• Compensation cess: Rs 9,525 crore (including Rs 660 crore collected on import of goods)

Though the February collection is lower than in January, it remained “healthy”, said Aditi Nayar, principal economist, ICRA Ltd.

“Subsequently, a favourable base effect is likely to result in the CGST collections expanding by 18-23% in March 2021. However, the settlement of IGST of Rs. 48,000 crore between the centre and the states, will adversely impact the net CGST+IGST revenues of the centre in February 2021, resulting in a moderation in the growth of its gross and net tax revenues in that month. This could be a key reason why the FY2021 Revised E stimate implicitly built in a contraction in CGST +IGST of 27% in Q4 FY2021.”