Image : Representational Purpose Only
GST collections surged to an all-time high of over Rs 1.15 lakh crore in December as economic activities picked up after lifting of stringent lockdown restrictions.
Mop-up from the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which is levied when a consumable item is sold or a service such as travel booking rendered, in December was 12 per cent higher than such receipts in the same month of 2019.
At Rs 1,15,174 crore, the collections were 10 per cent more than the mop-up in the previous month — the biggest growth in monthly revenues in the last 21 months.
In a statement, the finance ministry said the December collections were the highest ever since the implementation of the nationwide tax in July 2017. The previous best was in April 2019 when Rs 113,866 crore was collected.
This is the third straight month of over Rs 1 lakh crore tax collections and the fourth consecutive month this fiscal when GST collections have outperformed comparable months from 2019, a sign of strong recovery.
The increase in tax collections was due to the “combined effect of the rapid economic recovery post-pandemic and the nationwide drive against GST evaders and fake bills along with many systemic changes introduced recently, which have led to improved compliance,” the statement said.
GST collections, which directly reflect the state of economic activity, had plummeted to a record low of Rs 32,172 crore in April 2020, after the government imposed a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus.
