The Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections soared in January, official government data on Saturday showed. The data showed that gross GST collections climbed 12.3 per cent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis to touch Rs 1.96 lakh crore in the month. This surge was attributed to higher domestic economic activity.
The revenue from sale of goods and services domestically jumped 10.4 per cent in the reviewing month at Rs 1.47 lakh crore, reported PTI. The tax revenue from imported goods rose 19.8 per cent to Rs 48,382 crore.
The overall gross GST revenue touched Rs 1,95,506 crore in January, data showed. Refunds worth Rs 23,853 crore were issued during the month under review, clocking a gain of 24 per cent.
The net GST revenue during January, after adjusting for refunds, stood at Rs 1.72 lakh crore, increasing 10.9 per cent. Abhishek Jain, Indirect Tax Head and Partner, KPMG, noted, “This consistent increase in GST collection could indicate an uptick in economic growth and sustained tax compliance by businesses. Notably, the growth in collections despite higher refunds is commendable, suggesting improved efficiency in refund processing by the department—an encouraging step toward enhancing ease of doing business.”
M S Mani, Partner, Deloitte India, said that the consistent pace of the GST collections led to a growth of 9.4 per cent in the revenues against the same period a year earlier. The executive noted that jump seen in refunds indicate that both businesses and tax authorities have now become completely familiar with the refund processes and their requirements.
Among states, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra reflected robust growth in revenue collection, with the states reporting an improvement of 20 per cent and 14 per cent in GST collected respectively. On the other hand, Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh showed a decline in the collections by 10 per cent and 7 per cent respectively.
