The monthly collection of the goods and services tax (GST) is on the up and up again, with July reporting the second highest GST intake ever at nearly Rs 1.49 lakh crore rupees. The figure is surpassed only by the all-time high of Rs 1.68 lakh crore rupees back in April this year.
Despite the record high in April, there were worry lines across the government back when the collections plummeted after that. In May, the GST collections dropped drastically from 1.68 lakh crore to 1.40 lakh crore.
With inflation hitting record-highs, the withdrawal of massive amounts of foreign funding from the domestic market and the Ukraine war continuing on uncertainty, it had seemed that all expectations of a rapid recovery from the Covid lows were still far away.
The monthly figures just about managed to float the next month, at Rs 1.44 lakh crore rupees. But now, with July figures showing stable growth even if it is nowhere near the April high of Rs 1.68 lakh crore, mandarins at South Block are heaving a sigh of relief at the uptake. Any growth is welcome considering the scenario — a global recession knocking on the doorstep and skyrocketing prices threatening to bring the bad news closer home.
State-wise, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu had the highest GST growth in July compared to the same month last year (excluding UTs and small states like Nagaland). Bihar and Tripura had a decline in collections.
Out of this month’s Rs 1.48 lakh crore GST collection, Central GST is Rs 25,751 crore, state GST is Rs 32,807 crore while Integrated GST was Rs 79,518 crore (including Rs 41,420 crore collected on import of goods. Cess collected is Rs 10,920 crore.
With petrol prices cut and worries of a looming global recession, it is imperative to the government that the sources of revenue like GST steadily increase, to help make up for the massive expenses incurred following Covid-19 and the deficit-sized hole in the government’s fiscal accounts.
