India’s goods and services tax (GST) collections for the month of June fell below the psychological Rs 1 lakh crore for the first time after eight months as several parts in the country were in a lockdown mode to contain the spread of the Covid 19 virus.

According to government data, total GST revenue collected in June stood at Rs 92,849 crore. However, the finance ministry in a tweet said that the “revenues for the month of June 2021 are 2 per cent higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year.”

GST collection is a reflection of the country’s business activities.

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“The above figure includes GST collection from domestic transactions between June 5 to July 5, 2021, since taxpayers were given various relief measures in the form of waiver/reduction in interest on delayed return filing for 15 days for the return filing month June 21 for the taxpayers with the aggregate turnover up to Rs 5 crore in the wake of covid pandemic second wave,” an official statement by the government said.

Analysts said that the quantum of dip in revenue collection is not “very worrisome.”

As the economy opens up with the drop in Covid 19 cases, GST revenues will pick up in the coming months.

"The collections are for the supplies made in the month of May, where several parts of the country were under the lockdown, so this dip is on the expected lines. With significant relaxations in lockdown and business supplies picking up, the collections should see a definite uptick in the coming months,” Abhishek Jain, Tax Partner, EY India, said in a statement.