India’s gross receipts from goods and services taxes (GST) hit a record £1.42,095 million in March, beating the January high of £1,40,986 million and lifting the center’s projected gross tax receipts for 2021-22 well above revised government estimates.
GST receipts in March for transactions conducted in February were 15% higher than the same month last year and 46% higher than the March 2020 surveys. Receipts from imports of goods were 25% higher and receipts from domestic transactions, including imports of services, were 11% higher than a year earlier.
The Treasury Department claimed that the highest-ever monthly GST kitty indicates business activity is recovering faster, noting the fact that the number of E-Way bills generated in February surpassed the 6.88 million figure im exceeded January by three lakh, although it was shorter month’.
The last quarter of 2021-22 recorded average monthly revenue of 1.38 lakh crore compared to 1.3 lakh crore in the previous quarter. The average was significantly lower in the first and second quarters of the last financial year at ₹1.1 lakh crore and ₹1.15 lakh crore, respectively. Aside from the economic recovery, the ministry said “anti-circumvention measures against fake billers” also helped strengthen GST collections.
“Record GST earnings were also supported by strong sales activity in March from companies looking to close the fiscal year with high growth,” said MS Mani, Partner at Deloitte India.
ICRA Chief Economist Aditi Nayar expected GST receipts to continue rising in April thanks to improved economic activity and year-end adjustments, adding that the tax collected in March came in line with the resurgence in the creation of e-way bills stand.
“Higher GST receipts, on top of tariff receipts driven by the recovery in gold imports in February, combined with direct taxes, are likely to have pushed the Government of India’s gross tax receipts well above revised estimates for the year,” said Ms., Nayar said, postulating that actual collections likely “exceeded” the revised estimate of 27.6 lakh crore by a substantial 2.25 lakh crore.
Although revenue from domestic transactions and import of services increased by 11% compared to March 2021, trends were mixed across major states. Revenue increased by 26% in Odisha, 19% in Maharashtra, 17% in Haryana and 12% in Gujarat. GST receipts in West Bengal only grew by 2% while in Uttar Pradesh it increased by 6%.
Among the southern states, Andhra Pradesh’s GST receipts increased by 18%, followed by 14% growth in Kerala, 11% in Karnataka and only 6% in Tamil Nadu. Telangana’s kitten only grew 2%.
