The data primarily pertains to activities in March, which had only a few days under the Covid-19 lockdown. For April , hence, CGST collections could be much lower, fear analysts.
The buoyancy in the tax revenue of GST reflects the upswing in the economy and better compliance
Only 69 per cent of the assessees filed returns
This is the third consecutive month when GST mop-up remained below the Rs 1 lakh crore mark, despite the festival season.
1.03 crore taxpayers have been registered under GST till February 25, of which 17.65 lakh are composition dealers who are required to file returns every quarter.
The aim of the exercise was to further simplify GST forms and make the filing process more user-friendly, the finance ministry said in a tweet, reports Dilasha Seth.
GST collections in March slipped below the psychological Rs 1 lakh crore-mark for the first time in four months to Rs 97,597 crore as the Covid-19 lockdown that shut most businesses compounded tax collection woes in an already sluggish economy. Goods and Services Tax (GST) mop-up in March recorded a 8.4 per cent decline over March 2019 collection of Rs 1.06 lakh crore. The collections were lower on account of dip in revenues from domestic transactions as well as imports.
The total revenue earned by central government and state governments after regular settlement in December was Rs 43,851 crore for CGST and Rs 46,252 crore for SGST.
The Centre managed to collect only Rs 990 crore as compensation cess in April 2020-21, almost one-ninth of the figure of Rs 8,874 crore mopped up a year ago. The subdued collection would further increase states' problems unless the GST Council, which meets next week, decides to borrow from the market.
Despite a steady collection rate, the government faces a steep Budget target of Rs 6.1 trillion for CGST for 2019-20.
After the 2019 election, one thing is sure: GST will see a number of changes, explains Indivjal Dhasmana.
The council decided not to levy any additional tax on small petrol and diesel cars of up to 1200 cc as well as on hybrid ones.
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs said despite the electronic way or E-way bill mechanism there has been rampant evasion and there is a need to increase compliance.
Agriculture implements that are currently taxed up to 18 per cent may come under the 12 per cent or the 5 per cent bracket.
Restricting the input credit is not a good idea for any sector, particularly real estate which requires more formalisation.
'There were lots of functionalities the Group of Ministers asked us to incorporate.'
The CAG audit and other data suggests it could be far from the efficient new alternative that was once conceptualised. A conclusive review remains elusive till the government begins to release more granular and comparable data on the complex backend of GST to a deeper scrutiny, by researchers, auditors and the public.
'So far, the government has sanctioned more than Rs 300 billion as GST refunds,' Ansh Bhargava and Aditya Singhania point out.
Simplifying the processes will lead to greater efficiencies. Bad processes will not help even if implemented well, says T N C Rajagopalan
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances