Monthly GST collections hit the second highest ever in March 2023.
India’s gross collection from Goods and Services Tax rose 13% from a year earlier to Rs 1,60,122 crore, registering second highest collection since implementation of GST in July 2017.
The gross GST collection in March included CGST of Rs 29,546 crore, SGST of Rs 37,314 crore and record IGST of Rs 82,907 crore (including Rs 42,503 crore collected on import of goods) and cess of ₹10,355 crore (including ₹960 crore collected on import of goods), the government said in a statement.
Gross GST collections crossed Rs 1.5 lakh crore mark for a month for the fourth time in the last financial year that ended yesterday.
Returns filed in March also surged to a record high. 93.2% of statement of invoices (in GSTR-1) and 91.4% of returns (in GSTR-3B) of February were filed till March 2023 as compared to 83.1% and 84.7%, respectively same month last year, the statement added.
Gross GST collection in the last fiscal year rose 22% on year to Rs 18.10 lakh crore and the average gross monthly collection for the full year was Rs 1.51 lakh crore.The average monthly gross GST collection for the last quarter of FY2023 was Rs 1.55 lakh crore against the average monthly collection of Rs 1.51 lakh crore, Rs 1.46 lakh crore and Rs 1.49 lakh crore in the first, second and third quarters respectively.
In March, New Delhi settled Rs 33,408 crore to CGST and Rs 28,187 crore to SGST from IGST as regular settlement. The total revenue of the central and state governments in March after IGST settlement was Rs 62,954 crore for CGST and Rs 65,501 crore for the SGST.
During the month, revenues from import of goods were 8% higher and the revenues from domestic transaction (including import of services) were 14% higher on year.
India’s monthly goods and services tax (GST) collections hit the second highest ever in March, rising 13% from a year earlier to `1.6 lakh crore, suggesting economic strength despite several headwinds.
The total gross collection for FY23 was Rs 18.10 lakh crore, an average Rs 1.51 lakh a month and up 22% from FY22, data released on Saturday showed.
“Monthly GST collections for the month of March being the second highest of all time, coupled with 22% higher GST collections for FY22-23 over last year point towards the growing trajectory of the Indian economy,” said Abhishek Jain, partner, indirect tax, KPMG in India. GST collections hit a record Rs 1.68 lakh crore in April last year.
The Centre’s share in the FY23 GST kitty was Rs 8.42 lakh crore, higher than the budget estimate of Rs 7.80 lakh crore but lower than the revised estimate of Rs 8.54 lakh crore. In the current FY24 fiscal year, the Centre expects to mop up Rs 9.56 lakh crore as its GST share, a 12% rise over the FY23 collection.
The Indian economy is projected to grow about 6% in FY24, down from about 7% estimated for the just concluded FY23, as it contends with challenges such as high interest rates, inflation and a global slowdown.
The March GST data suggest economic resilience and experts say they expect the strong collection trend to continue.“With the growth in economic activity and increased focus on GST analytics-based audits, the trend should see upward trajectory in the coming months,” said Mahesh Jaising, partner, leader, indirect tax, Deloitte India.Returns filed in March were the highest ever, the government said in a statement. Most of the states registered healthy double-digit growth in GST collections.
The Rs 1.6 lakh crore March collection was split into central GST (Rs 29,546 crore), state GST (Rs 37,314 crore), and record integrated GST (Rs 82,907 crore), including Rs 42,503 crore collected on import of goods. The cess collected was Rs 10,355 crore, including Rs 960 crore on the import of goods.