Covid dent: GST revenue down 27% in May at Rs 1.02 lakh cr

Monthly Goods and Service Tax (GST) revenue remained above the Rs 1 lakh crore mark in May for the eighth consecutive month at Rs 1,02,709 crore as against Rs 1,41,000 crore in April. However, the dent caused by COVID-19 second wave is visible sequentially as May collection is down 27 per cent from record collection in April this year.

"The gross GST revenue collected in the month of May 2021 is Rs 1,02,709 crore of which CGST is Rs 17,592 crore, SGST is Rs 22,653, IGST is  Rs 53,199 crore (including Rs 26,002 crore collected on import of goods) and Cess is Rs 9,265 crore (including Rs 868 crore collected on import of goods)," Union Finance Ministry said in a release.  

May GST revenue is 65 per cent higher than GST revenue in the same month last year, it said. GST revenue had plummeted to Rs 62,121 crore in May last year due to national lockdown to curtail the spread of COVID-19.

Experts believe that May revenue collection indicates lower than expected impact of the second wave of the pandemic.

Also read: Paytm's loss narrows to Rs 1,704 crore in FY21, revenue declines 10%

"Collections above Rs 1 lakh crore pertaining to the transactions in the month of April 21 indicates that the economic impact of the lockdowns has been much lower than expected. A close watch is required on the next month's collections to determine the extent of the impact on GST collections FY22," said M S Mani, Senior Director, Deloitte India.

"The collection for the month of May 2021 is higher than expected. Though most of the businesses were were not functioning in the month of April due to the lockdown, the numbers come as a pleasant suprise. The numbers should rise further considering that many small businesses are yet to file their returns considering the Covid related relaxations extended by the government for such businesses," said Rajat Bose, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co.

It may be noted that the May numbers include GST collection from domestic transactions till June 4 since taxpayers were given various relief measures in the form of waiver/reduction in interest on delayed return filing for 15 days for the month of May in the wake of the second wave of the pandemic.

Tax collection in the month of May pertain to the transactions made in April.

Also read: COVID-19 impact: Consumer confidence at record low, RBI survey shows