GST collections surge to Rs 1.15 lakh crore in December

Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections scaled a record high of over Rs 1.15 lakh crore in December up from Rs 1.04 lakh crore in the previous month, reflecting signs of of an economic revival after the setback due to the lockdowns which were clamped to fight the Covid pandemic. This is the third consecutive month in which the collections have crossed the significant Rs one lakh crore mark.

The collections were 10.57 per cent higher month-on-month and 11.65 per cent higher on a year-on-year basis. The government had collected Rs 1.03 lakh crore in December 2019.

The finance ministry said in a statement that the GST revenues during December, 2020 have been the highest since the introduction of the indirect tax regime from July, 2017. "It is the first time that it has crossed Rs 1.15 lakh crore," it said.

Talking about the previous high, the ministry said the revenues of April normally tend to be high since they pertain to the returns of March, which marks the end of financial year.

Abhishek Jain, partner at EY, said, "GST collections crossing Rs 1.15 trillion for the first time ever despite the fact that we are not completely out of the pandemic indicates a remarkable recovery in the economy."

He said some of it could also be due to the plugging of GST revenue leakage by the government on account of fake credits through fraudulent invoicing and introduction of e-invoicing. E-invoicing is mandatory for companies with annual turnover of Rs 500 crore form October 2020 onwards and was extended to those with annual turnover of Rs 100 crore from today..