GST revenues reclaim Rs 1 lakh cr mark with Rs 1,16,393 cr collection in July

Monthly Goods and Service Tax revenue has reclaimed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark with collections of Rs 1,16,393 crore in July, which is up 33 per cent from Rs 87,422 crore in the same month last year. Sequentially, GST revenue is up 25 per cent over Rs 92,894 crore collected in the month of June.  

"The gross GST revenue collected in the month of July 2021 is Rs 1,16,393 crore of which CGST is Rs 22,197 crore, SGST is Rs 28,541 crore, and IGST is Rs 57,864 crore (including Rs 27,900 crore collected on import of goods), and Cess is Rs 7,790 crore (including Rs 815 crore collected on import of goods)," said the ministry of finance in a release issued a short while back.

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"The revenues for the month of July 2021 are 33% higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year. During the month, revenues from import of goods were 36% higher and the revenues from domestic transaction (including import of services) are 32% higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year," the release added.  

July GST collections point at recovery in the economic activity post the second wave of the pandemic, which impacted the collections the month of June.

After staying above the Rs 1 lakh crore mark for eight months beginning September last year and touching a peak of Rs 1,40,000 crore in April this year, GST revenues dipped to Rs 92,894 crore in the month of June, which accounted for transactions done in May. The impact of the localised lockdowns imposed in the month of May due to the rising cases of COVID -19 in the second wave impacted the June revenue.  

"With the easing out of COVID restrictions, GST collection for July 2021 has again crossed Rs 1 lakh crore, which clearly indicates that the economy is recovering at a fast pace. The robust GST revenues are likely to continue in the coming months too," said the finance ministry release.

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"The sharp increase in the collections for July indicates the resumption of economic activities in June and will raise expectations of better collections in the coming months. The improvement in GST collections both on domestic transactions and imports, accompanied by the fact that major producing states have shown significant increases, would indicate that the economic activities have resumed across the country," said MS Mani, Senior Director, Deloitte India.

Experts also believe that if India is able to resist the third wave, GST collection may see further buoyancy. "Collections in July have seen a sharp uptick as compared to June on the back of economic revival due to unlocking of businesses in June. If the country is able to resist the third wave, the GST collections should increase from here on," said Rajat Bose, partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas.