New Delhi: The goods and services tax (GST) collection in March this year stood at a record high of Rs 1.23 lakh crore.
According to the data released by finance ministry on Thursday, “The gross GST revenue collected in the month of March 2021 stood at Rs 1,23,902 crore, of which central GST is Rs 22,973 crore, state GST is Rs 29,329 crore, integrated GST is Rs 62,842 crore (including Rs 31,097 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is Rs 8,757 crore (including Rs 935 crore collected on import of goods).”
“GST revenues during March 2021 are the highest since introduction of GST. In line with the trend of recovery in the GST revenues over past five months, the revenues for the month of March 2021 are 27 per cent higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year,” the ministry said in a statement.
During the month, revenues from import of goods was 70% higher and the revenues from domestic transaction (including import of services) are 17% higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year. The GST revenue witnessed growth rate of (-) 41%, (-) 8%, 8% and 14% in the first, second, third and fourth quarters of this financial year, respectively, as compared to the same period last year, clearly indicating the trend in recovery of GST revenues as well as the economy as a whole.
GST revenues crossed above Rs 1 lakh crore mark at a stretch for the last six months and a steep increasing trend over this period are clear indicators of rapid economic recovery post pandemic. Closer monitoring against fake-billing, deep data analytics using data from multiple sources including GST, Income-tax and Customs IT systems and effective tax administration have also contributed to the steady increase in tax revenue over last few months.
