India’s GST : In a recent financial report, India’s Gross GST revenues experienced a slight slowdown, growing at a rate of 10.2% in September. Although this represents a decrease from the previous two months’ growth rate of around 10.8%, it’s important to note that collections improved by 2.3% compared to August, reaching an impressive ₹1,62,712 crore.
The Finance Ministry also revealed that revenues from domestic transactions, including the import of services, were 14% higher than during the same month last year. What’s noteworthy is that this marks the fourth time in the fiscal year 2023-24 that the gross GST revenue has crossed the ₹1.60 lakh crore mark, indicating a resilient and growing economy.
Breaking down the numbers, the revenue collection comprised Central collections of ₹29,818 crore, State GST of ₹37,657 crore, and Integrated of ₹83,623 crore, including ₹41,145 crore collected on the import of goods. Additionally, GST compensation cess collections were ₹11,613 crore, which also included ₹881 crore from the import of goods.
India’s GST Revenue Updates
The Finance Ministry stated, “The government has settled ₹33,736 crore to CGST and ₹27,578 crore to SGST from IGST. The total revenue of Centre and the States in the month of September, 2023 after regular settlement is ₹63,555 crore for CGST and ₹65,235 crore for the SGST.”
Among the states, Manipur, which had faced economic challenges earlier, recorded the highest growth in GST revenues in September, with a remarkable 47% increase. Telangana followed closely with 33% growth, while Jammu and Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka also experienced substantial growth at 32%, 27%, 21%, and 20%, respectively.
However, Bihar was the outlier, reporting a 5% contraction in collections in September. In terms of Union Territories, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands witnessed significant declines of 45% and 30% year-on-year, respectively. In contrast, Ladakh experienced a remarkable 81% surge in revenues.
Interestingly, revenues from goods imports, which had recovered from two months of contraction with 3% growth in August, saw a fractional decline in September. Although the Finance Ministry didn’t specify the extent of the decline, a rough estimate indicates that revenues from goods imports dropped by 0.11% compared to the previous September.
Tax experts suggest that part of the increase in September’s revenues could be attributed to businesses settling pending tax dues since the introduction of the regime in 2017-18. Abhishek Jain, indirect tax head and partner at KPMG, stated, “With the normal period of limitation for FY 17-18 ending on 30th September, some of this increased collection could be linked to businesses having settled issues with payment of taxes for the said period.” As the festive season approaches, there may be further upticks in revenues.
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