India GST collections beat pandemic blues

India’s gross Good and Services Tax (GST) revenue collections remained above the psychological mark of Rs1 lakh crore, clocking a high of Rs1,02,709 crore in May 2021, beating all the expectations of lower collections in the wake of the disruptions caused by the second wave of the pandemic.

Though the GST revenues in May 2021 are lower than the record Rs 1.41 lakh crore collections made in the previous month, the highest since the introduction of the tax in 2017, they are still significant as most tax experts had feared that the real impact of the pandemic and the lockdowns in different parts of the country would pull down GST collections significantly in May.

“The revenues for the month of May 2021 are 65 per cent higher than the GST revenues collected in the same month last year,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

“During the month, revenues from import of goods were 56 per cent higher, while the revenues from domestic transaction (including import of services) were 69 per cent higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year,” it added.

According to the statement, the gross GST revenue collected in May 2021 was Rs 1,02,709 crore of which CGST was Rs17,592 crore, SGST Rs22,653 crore, IGST Rs53,199 crore (including Rs 26,002 crore collected on import of goods) and Cess Rs 9,265 crore (including Rs 868 crore collected on import of goods).